Hazy Shade of Winter
by ViolentAlice
Summary: Meet Temperance, the twin sister of Sky High's beloved Glow Stick, Zach. This is her story, going through life at Sky High, and quite possibly the love of a certain pyrokinetic. WarrenOC. Rated T for language.
1. Introducing Temperance Calais

**Well hello new (and possibly old) readers! I am ViolentAlice, and welcome to my newest obsessio- I mean fiction... -cough-... Anywho, this is a Warren/OC Fiction, not Warren/Freezer Girl. This is my Freezer. And she's cooler. Times a thousand. And before you start reading, YES, this is Zach's (from Sky High. The Glow Stick.) twin sister. I'm not randomly creating a character with the same name as a canon. That'd be confusing. Since they never gave Zach a last name -teartear- I made one for him. So... That's about it! Tally-hooooo~!**

**Disclaimer: I _obviously_ don't own Sky High, or any of the canon characters within it.**

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><p>It was 3 o' clock in the morning when Temperance Calais was violently awoken by her twin brother, Zach Calais.<p>

"Tempy, Tempy, Tempy!" He was bouncing on her bed, and shouting her name excitedly.

"Ugh, the fuck, Zach?" The half-asleep girl moaned, and pushed her lanky brother off her bed, "Go back to bed." She muttered, and curled up into a ball, her back to her brother.

"Temperaaaance!" He moaned in a child-like voice. Realizing he wouldn't quit bugging her until she complied with his wishes she violently sat up and glared at him.

"What!" She asked, seething. Zach didn't seem to notice.

"I got my powers." He said breathlessly, grinning at Temperance. She looked back at him, awestruck.

"No way." She gasped, and then hugged her brother, "Okay, power up! Show me what you can do, kid!" Temperance smiled.

"Dude! Don't call me kid, I'm older than you by two minutes!" He stated matter-of-factly. Temperance rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, you gonna power up or not?"

"I am, I am!" He said giddily. He stepped back and took a moment to focus, before he clapped his hands. Zach was _glowing._ Temperance couldn't find the words to speak. Zach took it that she was struck by amazement, and _not_ by pity.

"Whaddup, right? I can glow! This is going to be so awesome; I thought for sure I was never going to get my powers…" Zach kept ranting on, and Temperance nodded and smiled, but was mentally speaking to herself.

"_Zach. All you can do is glow… I wonder how heart-broken he's going to be when he gets sidekick…"_

_"Hey! Don't think that! This is your brother! And he just so happens to be _ecstatic_ that he can glow!"_

_"Well, dammit, I can see that! Stupid brain."_

_"Then just be happy for him, you emotionally-inept dumb-ass!"_

_"Owch, with the come backs. Maybe this is why I have emotional issues." _Temperance snorted to herself.

"Yo! Didja hear me, sis? We get to go to Sky High together! This is gonna be _so_ epic!"

"Yeah, it's pretty rad, Zach. Now go back to bed, you big oaf. We have to go school shopping tomorrow."

"You're right. G'night, Tempy." He smiled and jogged back to his room.

_"… Ah, you're right. He's excited, so why rain on his parade?"_ Temperance said, continuing her conversation with the little voice of reason in her head.

_"Ha, remember how excited you were when you found out about your powers?" _The little voice replied.

_"Dude, I totally flipped out…" _

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><p>It was a regular day in the Calais house-hold, the two kids sitting in front of the TV, watching an action flick, their mother in the kitchen fixing lunch, and their dad out fighting crime.<p>

"Mommyyy, it's hot in here!" An eight-year-old Temperance Calais complained to her mother.

"Hun, you've been running around, of course you're going to be hot." Her mother rolled her eyes at the little girl. Temperance crossed her arms and sat back down, pouting. Five minutes had passed when Temperance had complained once more.

"Mama! It's _really_ hot!" She wailed, now sweating bullets.

"Temperance Calais, I've already told you, if you quit running around you'll cool off!" Her mother scolded. The little girl sighed, and returned her attention to the TV. Moments later Temperance launched herself at her brother, pretending to fight like the people in the movie. Suddenly Temperance held out her hands towards her brother, and he was blasted back by ice. Temperance looked at her brother in awe, then back down to her hands.

"Woah..."

"Temp! Zach!" Their mother called, running over to Zach, whom was now covered in frost. The both turned to Temperance. Zach looked shocked, as if he still couldn't comprehend what just happened. Her mother's face, however, lit up with joy and understanding. She walked over to where Temperance was.

"Tempy… Do you know what you just did?" Her mother asked giddily. Temperance shook her head back in forth. "Hun, you just got your powers!"

"… No… way…" Tempy said, mesmerized. With that she heard stomping, and looked by her mother to see a furious Zach stomping up the stairs and into his room.

"Mommy, what's wrong with Zach?" Tempy asked, saddened that her brother wasn't happy for her. Her mother frowned.

"He's just upset he didn't get his powers yet. He isn't mad at you, honey, it's alright." Her mother said, and ran after Zach. Temperance started laughing and rolling on the floor.

"I got my powerrs!" She squealed.

* * *

><p><em>"Hmph. Good times." <em>Temperance smiled to herself.

"Okay, definitely time for bed." She said to herself, and turned to her side and drifted peacefully into sleep.

The next morning Zach waltzed into his sisters' room, and started dragging the poor girl through the hall and down the staircase by her feet. Temperance tried to speak to him in the process.

"Ow-what-the-fuc-ZACH!" She finally screamed, and yanked her feet out of Zach's grasp.

"What's your problem?" Temperance yelled, glaring at her beaming brother.

"School shopping, remember?" He said, wryly.

"Watch the sarcasm, Calais, that's my job." Temperance threatened, and crawled back up to the bathroom to get ready. Thirty minutes later Temperance emerged, clean, but still looking half dead. She trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Look who finally decided to join us!" Zach smirked. Temperance growled in response, and made a beeline for the coffee pot. Once she got there a look between horror and anger appeared on her face. She smashed the empty coffee pot on the counter. Zach jumped at the sudden noise.

"Where's the coffee?" Temperance snarled, glaring at her brother. He held up his hands defensively.

"Wasn't me. Mom didn't make any this morning, she was running late. And you _really _need to quit shattering those every time you don't have coffee in the morning. That's the third one this month." He shook his head, pulling out a new glass pot out from a cabinet over the stove. Temperance sighed, and grabbed an energy drink out of the fridge, popped it open, took a swig, then started cleaning up the shattered glass.

"So mom gave us the money to go shopping, she said she trusted us to do the shopping on our own. She also gave us a number to the cab company to drive us around." Zach said, reading the note their mother had hastily written for them. Temperance nodded, and began chugging her energy drink.

"Dude, Tempy, you really got to think about quittin'. That ain't healthy." He lectured. Temperance threw the empty can at his head.

"Come on, Glow Stick, we're walking." Temperance stated, grabbed the money, and began walking out the door.

"Wow… Really, Tempy?... Tempy!" He called, and started running after his twin.

* * *

><p>"Jeez, Temp. We had money for a cab!" Zach complained. Temperance rolled her eyes.<p>

"It's only 10 blocks to the mall, quit bitchin'. And now we have money for lunch, you dumbass." Zach huffed, knowing his sister was right.

"You're so mean sometimes, Tempy. Oh, I also invited some friends of mine, Will and Layla, to go shopping with us. They'll meet us at the mall." Zach grinned. Temperance sighed.

"Why people, Zachy? Are you trying to get me to be social again? Last time you tried that I was sent to detention for a week…" She mumbled, silently cursing her anti-social tendencies.

"They're going to Sky High, too, Tempy! It'll be good, you can hang with us. We'll have our own cool posse and everything." Zach started smiling. She didn't want to smile, but Zach's was so contagious that she found herself involuntarily doing it, too.

"And be civilized with them! No taunting until _after_ you befriend them!"

"Whatever you say, Zachy."

A few minutes later they met up with Will and Layla, and on sight Temperance thought she would rather kill herself than befriend them.

_"These kids… They hurt my eyes. He's so patriotic I might fall out dead. Right now. And what a hippie girlfriend he has. I'm going to puke." _She plastered a fake smile on her face, as she greeted them.

"Hi, I'm Temperance. Zach's twin." Temperance greeted with a small wave. Layla was the first one to speak.

"Hey, Temperance! That's a pretty name." Layla complemented. Zach snorted.

"For someone named Temperance, you sure don't have any." He said, poking his sister in the side. She growled in response.

"I know where you sleep, Glow Stick." Layla and Will burst out into laughter, thinking that Temperance's 'glow stick' remark was about his clothing, not his new found power. Zach smiled, and took a small step away from his sister.

"Well, I'm Layla Williams, and this is my best friend, Will Stronghold." Temperance shook both of their hands.

"Stronghold… have I heard that name before?" Temperance wondered outloud.

"His parents are the Commander and Jetstream." Layla said, a little too perky for Temperance's taste. Will must've thought so, because he rolled his eyes, and then turned his eyes to the floor.

"Oh, okay. That's cool." Temperance said, unenthusiastically, to keep the poor boy from further humiliation. Will looked up at her surprised, and mouthed a 'thank you'. Temperance gave him a half-smile.

"Okay, enough with the chit-chat, let's get shopping!" Zach announced, parading to the nearest clothing store. Temperance rolled her eyes, smiling, and followed her brother.

It had been roughly an hour of shopping, and Temperance thought she was going to pass out from the overwhelming heat. Because of her powers, her natural body core temperature was about 55°, instead of the regular 98°, and it was a bright and sunny day in Maxville; this made it all the more worse for Temperance. While Will and Layla were off looking at clothes, Temperance pulled her brother (rather violently) off to the side.

"Zach! So help me, God, I will freeze you on spot if you do not find me some ice!" Temperance threatened. Upon closer inspection Zach realized his sister was drenched in sweat, and panting rather heavily.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier? Hold on, find a seat, I'll be back with a glass of ice in a second." He said and ran off to the nearest fast food joint. Minutes later he returned with a large cup of ice, and another large cup of cool water.

"There's a bathroom up there on the right. Go cool off." Zach said sternly.

"Yes, mommy." Temperance said sarcastically, and took the cups from him. After a moment she turned back around and ran back to Zach and hugged him.

"Love you, Zachy. Thanks." Zach pulled his sister off of him, and ruffled her hair.

"What are big brothers for?" He smirked. She scoffed at him.

"Two minutes, Zachy. Two." Temperance smiled, and ran off to the nearest bathroom. To her luck, it was empty. She dumped the cold water over her, and smiled.

"God, it was so hot…" She complained to herself, popping a piece of ice into her mouth, and then continued to ice the rest of her body. Ten minutes had past and with the help of the hand dryers, Temperance was cooler, and ready to go.

"I really need to invest in freezer jackets or something." She murmured to herself, while walking out of the bathroom.

"Temperance! Over here!" She heard someone calling her. Temperance turned to the voice, which came from the mouth of Layla. Temperance walked over to Layla and the guys, smiling.

"Hey! Sorry, I had to go cool off. It's way too hot out here for my tastes." Temperance shrugged.

"Oh, yeah, Zach told us you were a Freezer. That's a cool power." Will smiled. Zach snorted at his unintentional joke.

"It's a _cool_ power. Ha! That's a riot, Will!" Zach had doubled over from laughing too hard, while Temperance, Will, and Layla were looking at the boy wearily.

"And I have to live with him!" She whispered to the two, who tried not to laugh, but failed.

"Hey! It's about lunch time; do you guys want to go to the Paper Lantern? It's a great Chinese Restaurant!" Temperance perked up at the word 'Chinese'.

"Man, I love Chinese food! Let's do it!"

"Layla!" Will complained. Layla rolled her eyes at him.

"We'll get you something on the way, Will, jeez."

* * *

><p>A half an hour passed and the four were sitting in a booth at the Paper Lantern.<p>

"Dude, Zachy, get me a plate of fried rice and a Dr. Pepper; I'm going to go clean off this sweat." Temperance made a face. That was one of the reasons she didn't like hanging out with people. Hanging out generally meant going somewhere, and going somewhere generally meant going outside to get there, and boy, did she not handle well with outside. Zach nodded, and waved her away so he could continue his conversation with Will about baseball. Temperance childishly stuck her tongue out at him, while walking towards the bathroom, and brushed against something hot. Something _very _hot.

"Owch! Sonuvabitch!" Temperance yelped to herself and covered the spot on her arm that was in searing pain. She looked over expecting something like a hot stove. What she found instead, was a person. He was around her age, maybe a year older, and wearing the same shocked expression on his face as she was. Puzzled, she took her hand off of where he burned her, to see a large red spot. He looked down to the spot on her pale arm, and then to his own; where she had brushed up against him was _freezing_.

"Sorry." The boy muttered, and swiftly continued on his way. Looking confused, Temperance continued on her way as well. She cleaned herself up, and returned to the table, the bright red mark still visible.

"Dude, Tempy, what happened?" Zach asked, yanking her arm towards him for a closer examination. She snatched her arm back.

"Nothing, you nosey prick! I just accidently got a little hot water on me. I'm fine."

"He calls you Tempy? That's such a cute nickname! Can I call you Tempy?" Layla asked excitedly. Temperance bit back on the sarcastic words she was about to sling in Layla's direction. Instead she plastered another fake smile on.

"Sure thing, Temperance is a mouthful, isn't it?" She joked. Layla laughed, and started a conversation with Temperance about plants.

"Girls can talk so much, man." Zach complained. Will shook his head vigorously, smiling. That earned them a slap on the head from both Layla and Temperance.

"You're one to talk, Zachy." Temperance mocked.

At the end of the day everyone had happily gotten new school supplies and clothes, and were ready for the following day; the first day of school.

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><p><strong>Okay, so this was a really slow chapter, I know. Gotta introduce all the characters, y'know? So... Tempy sure is a smartass, right? I wonder how well it'll work out when she meets officially Warren. Hmm...<strong>

**So, I'm kinda just winging this chapter by chapter, so if anyone has any ideas feel free to shoot them my way! And review! That's good too! And... That's about it... So... V.A. OUT~! :D**


	2. Welcome to Sky High

**Hello all! I know I just created this story a few hours ago, but I couldn't help myself. So here's another chapter! Yaaay! Read on!**

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><p>Temperance Calais was rudely awoken once more, by her energetic brother, Zach.<p>

"Temp! First day of school! Come on!" Temperance groaned, and looked to her clock. 5:30. Temperance turned to her brother, who now had a look of horror on his face.

"Zach. We have to be on the bus in TWO HOURS. Let me sleep, you little fuck!" She yelled.

"Come on, I knew you'd do this! You have to shower and get ready! Get up!" Temperance groaned.

"If you promise me a cup of fresh coffee!" Temperance yelled into her pillow. Zach sighed.

"Fine, I'll make you some coffee, so get up!" He slammed the door walking out. Temperance reluctantly rolled out of her bed and on to the floor with a _thump_. She crawled to the bathroom to do her morning rituals, and walked down the stairs, still not fully awake, as every morning.

"Zach, you'd better have my coffee ready…" Temperance mumbled. Zach smiled at his sister from the dining room table.

"Good morning to you, too! It's sitting in the pot-Which you'd better not break." Temperance just nodded, and poured herself a cup of the hot, brown liquid. She blissfully took a sip of it, then sighed in content. Temperance walked over to the table and sat down across from Zach.

"So, mom and dad are both out working." Temperance said more as a statement than a question.

"Yup. They won't be home until late they said."

"Fun." Temperance said, not really paying attention.

"We should have a party."

"Go for it."

"… So I found out my ex-girlfriend had a baby. I'm the father."

"Magnifi-Wait… What the hell?" Zach rolled his eyes at his sister, who was now staring at him wide eyed.

"I was wondering when you'd come back to us. Jeez, Temp, you're weird when you get spacey."

"My mind's just on other things right now, thank you." She replied hotly. Her statement was true, actually. She had been thinking about the guy that burned her in the restaurant.

_"There is no way a normal person could've burnt me like that. My arm is still red! And I know my touch is pretty cold. He looked at his arm too, so he noticed. Wait! If he's a super, does that mean he goes to Sky High? I oughta have a word or two with that guy! The nerve he has, bumping into _me_!"_

"-Temp? Helloooo, Temperance?"

"Would you quit that!" Temperance swatted at her brothers' hand.

"Ow! So mean!" He bawled. Temperance rolled her eyes, "Anyway, it's time to head to the bus. Don't want to be late on the first day, right?" He gave her an award winning smile.

"Yeah, yeah, lemme put the rest of the coffee in my thermos…" She mumbled, still a bit groggy.

They made it to the bus on time, they were among the first to be picked up. The two took their seats in the back; Zach sat next to a girl wearing a lot of purple. Temperance took a seat across from them, all by herself.

_"Hmm. Purple kid over there seems familiar. Zach apparently likes her. Did she go to middle school with us? I can't remember. Need more coffee."_ Temperance took another swig of her coffee, and curled up in the seat, ready to take a nap. She'd dozed off for about 5 minutes when she heard her name being called.

"Tempy!" Layla called to her, waving. Temperance opened one eye to look at the girl. She nodded and raised her glass as a half-assed 'hello'. To Temperance's dismay, the perky girl and Captain America sat down in the seat in front of hers. After Will greeted her, he turned to Zach and they started their own conversation, while Layla decided to play 20 questions with Temperance.

"So when did you first discover your powers?" Layla inquired. Temperance smiled at the memory.

"I was eight. It was so funny, and it happened so suddenly. I was weirded out, but really excited. Y'know?"

"Definitely! So how'd it happen?"

"It's a bit foggy. I remember I suddenly got really hot. I was sweating bullets, 'cause my powers drop my body temperature, and then I started wrestling with Zach, and then boom! I shoot icicles out of my hands." Temperance was laughing to herself.

"No way! What'd he do?"

"Ah, the dumb oaf got all mad a stormed off. Something about me getting his powers before him. So, what about you? When'd you first find your powers?" Layla made a thoughtful face, as if trying to remember.

"I honestly don't know. I'm sure I wasn't born with it, but ever since I could remember, I've had my powers. That's how Will and I became friends. You know how we had those lima beans we had to grow in, like, first grade? He was so mad because mine was growing so fast. One day I gave in and told him about my powers. Nuthead's been my best friend ever since." She smiled, looking at Will with a tinge of longing in her eyes. Temperance was about to say something when seatbelts suddenly appeared and strapped her to her seat.

"Holy hell, what the fuck, I'm going to die!" Temperance said all in one breath. She clutched her coffee in one hand, and the seat with the other. The bus drove off an unfinished bridge, and Temperance closed her eyes tight, and closed her thermos.

_"Hey, if I'm going to die, I don't want to get my clothes all dirty, right?"_ She thought to herself. At that moment the bus converted into some sort of rocket, and flew up. It was like being on a rollercoaster, being slung around and upside down, when finally Sky High came into sight. Temperance let out a sigh of relief.

"Sweet ground, how I missed you." She said dramatically, once she got off of the bus. At that moment two guys approached the group that just exited the bus. The large one was wearing his hat backwards, and attempting to look like a 'gangsta' as her brother put it. To her he just looked ridiculous. The other one was tall and lanky, with striped arms on his shirt; this boy looked like trouble, too. Unexpectedly, the large boy started running extremely fast around the group, an attempt to herd the group together. Temperance was about to jump him when he stopped, and the lanky kid stretched his way over there.

"Freaky…" Temperance muttered.

"Attention freshman!" The fat one yelled. The lanky guy cut in.

"I'm Lash, and this is Speed, and we're representatives of the Sky High welcoming committee-"

"-We'd be happy to collect that fifteen dollar student fee." Speed finished as Lash stretched his hand over to a geeky kid named Ethan.

"Uhh, there's nothing about a new student fee in the handbook." He said. Temperance rolled her eyes and put her face in her palm. (A/N:Facepalm lololol… That is all. : )

"Okay guys, very funny, I'll take over from here." A girl clad in pink walked over to the group.

"Mine eyes! They bleed!" Temperance whispered to Zach. He snorted, and waved Temperance away so he could listen to the girl. Temperance didn't care, so she zoned out, drinking her coffee, and taking in the campus.

"-and if you just remember to follow those few simple rules, I promise you will not fall off the edge of the building."

_"Ho, shit! What did I miss?" _Temperance looked around, freaking out in her mind.

_"Play it off, Temp. Just drink your coffee, and ask Zach when we get home…"_

* * *

><p>We all walked into the gym for orientation, when a white blur of light flew over their heads, and landed just behind the podium. In place of the light a woman appeared.<p>

"Good morning, I am Principal Powers. On behalf of all of the faculty and staff, welcome to Sky High." Zach whooped, and clapped. Temperance rolled her eyes and stomped on his foot so he'd quit. Principal Powers gave him a look that made Temperance snort. She went on for a minute, something about power placement, and she took off as a beam of light again. Behind us a man on a platform rose to the middle of the gym. Said man was wearing _way_ to short shorts.

"Alright, listen up. My name is Coach Boomer. You may know me as Sonic Boom. You may not. Here's how Power Placement is going to work; you will step up here and show me your power; yes, you will do so in front of the entire class. I will then determine where you will be assigned: hero or sidekick." He droned on for a moment, something about whiner babies, but Temperance wasn't paying attention; she zoned out and started sipping on her coffee a long time ago. Out of the blue (or so it seemed to Temperance), he yelled, "Are we _**CLEAR?**_" and made Temperance take a step back to regain her balance. A low guttural noise came from within her throat, but she didn't realize she was growling until Zach popped her in the back of the head.

"You. What's your name?"

"L-Larry."

"Little Larry. Get up here." He commanded. Temperance heard Layla and Will whispering, but she couldn't catch what they were saying. Larry powered up into a giant rock-man thing. She suddenly had the feeling her brother was about to do something stupid. Call it 'twin telepathy' or whatever, but Temperance looked her brother square in the eyes before she spoke to him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked with a serious tone. He rolled his eyes and patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't sweat, kid. Larry may be good, but I'm better." He said smugly, and walked up to the platform. Temperance cringed.

"Did I say you're next?" Boomer asked.

"The name's Zach, Coach Boomer. Try not to drop your clipboard." With that Zach took a breath and then clapped. Seemingly nothing happened. Temperance was biting her lip.

"… Any day now, superstar." Boomer said sarcastically.

"I'm doin' it."

"Doing what?"

"I'm glowing." Zach said matter-of-factly. Boomer glared.

"I don't think so…"

"Well, it's easier to see in the dark, if we could maybe turn out these lights, maybe you could cup your hands around your eyes and look real-"

"Sidekick."

"…Are you sure?" Zach whispered, looking slightly crestfallen.

"**SIDEKICK!**" Boomer shouted with his sonic voice, blowing Zach right off of the platform. Temperance glared, then walked over to her brother.

"You alright?" She asked, helping him up. He got up and dusted himself off.

"Nothing hurt by my pride." He said dramatically, putting a hand over his heart. Temperance smiled, knowing he didn't take it too hard.

"Come on, let's get back Glow Stick." After that Temperance didn't pay much attention to anyone until he pointed her out.

"You, albino kid, front and center." Temerance huffed, turned to Zach, and he gave her a high-five for luck.

"I'm not albino, so you better watch it." Temperance said through gritted teeth to the man. He rolled his eyes.

"Name and power."

"Temperance Calais. I'm like a Freezer, but I can control the ice in all three of it's forms."

"…So you're a hydrokinetic?"

"It's not the same thing!" She said, biting her tongue to keep her from swearing, "My cycle starts with ice, not water." Coach Boomer rolled his eyes.

"Flamethrower." He stated nonchalantly, and pushed a button on his remote. Wide-eyed, Temperance saw a large bazooka looking object come out of the ground, getting ready to spew fire at her. Without a second thought she froze the thing solid. There were a bunch of 'oh's and 'ah's from the crowd.

"Hero." Coach Boomer said, as if nothing happened. Temperance walked off of the platform, absolutely livid.

"Yo, congrats Temp, you got Hero!" Zach said patting her on the back. He quickly removed his hand from the freezing girl.

"Temp, girl, you really need to watch your temper. You're gonna freeze the whole school." He laughed. Controlling her anger, Temperance finally warmed up to her normal body temperature.

"That's better! Oh, dude, look, Boomer is calling Layla up!" Zach pointed.

_"This isn't going to go well…" _Temperance thought to herself.

"You! Flower child! Let's go!"

"I believe in only using my powers when the situation demands it." Layla responded.

_"Great… This isn't going to be good…"_

"Well, you're in luck, this is the situation, and I'm demanding it."

"But, to participate in this test would be to support a flawed system. I think the whole 'hero' and 'sidekick' dichotomy only serves to-"

"Let me get this straight. Are you refusing to show me your powers?"

"Well, it's more complicated than that, I mean-"

"**SIDEKICK!**" Luckily the bell rang for lunch.

"Alright, we'll pick it up after lunch… starting with _you_." Boomer said pointing at Will.

* * *

><p>Zach was ranting about Boomer not making him a hero. Temperance was thankful that he took it so well, but she had been expecting the worst. The group had finally found an empty table, and they all sat down.<p>

"Okay, am I crazy, or is that guy really looking at me?" Will asked, as we all turned to look.

_"Hmm… that guy looks familiar…" _

"Dude… That's Warren Peace."

"_That's_ Warren Peace?" They continued on with a discussion about how Warren's dad was sent to prison because of Will's dad, when something finally clicked in Temperance's head.

_"The Paper Lantern."_ She looked at him, and their eyes made contact. Getting angry, Temperance looked at her arm where he had burned her. The spot was still red. He followed her gaze to her arm, and he realized that that was the girl who froze him. Angry, he looked back up at her, to see her already glaring at him. It seemed that neither of them would back down, until Zach noticed that Temperance was glaring at the boy. He slapped her on the back of the head.

"Tempy, quit glaring at people! He's the kind of person who would throw you off the side of the school without a second glance." Zach whispered, eyeing Warren wearily. Temperance focused her glare on Zach.

"I'll kick his ass if he tries, so _don't_ tell me what to do," She said through gritted teeth, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need a soda." Temperance got up, and took her tray of barely touched food and threw it away. Temperance made a beeline to the soda machine where, lo and behold, in front of the machine was Warren Peace.

"_Move_." Temperance commanded. The boy smirked at her.

"No." Temperance growled, and started glaring at Warren once more. As Temperance's anger grew, the temperature around her started dropping. Warren's eyebrow rose.

"So you were the girl?" He asked. His question caught her off guard, but she quickly regained her composure.

"If you mean the girl you burned, then yes." She said hotly. Temperance held her arm up to where he touched her, which had faded to a pinkish color now. He stepped aside from the soda machine, but bent down to her whisper in her ear.

"If you _ever_ cross me, I'll do much worse than that, Icebox." He threatened, and walked away. It took all of the self control Temperance had to not shoot a blizzard at him. She took slow breaths to calm down, bought her soda, and rejoined the Captain America and Co. table. Zach seized his sister's shoulders and shook her violently.

"What were you thinkin' Temp? He'll roast you alive!"

"Pfft, would you quit shaking me," She said, swatting his hands away, "and besides, I can freeze his ass faster than he can say 'Icebox'." Temperance stated smugly. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and their conversation. The crew was making their way back to the gym when Will accidently bumped into the pink horror that greeted the freshman earlier that morning. He tried to speak, but the words became jumbled.

"Will Stronghold." She greeted, flashing a perfect smile. Temperance could feel her muscles twitch with unease.

"Uhh… A-ha! Mind reader!" He said, rather dorkily.

"No… Name tag." She said, still smiling.

"Uhmm. Right- these are my friends; Zach-"

"Whaddup?"

"His twin, Temperance-"

"Pleasure." The pink girl said, Temperance merely glared.

"And this is-"

"Layla, got it. I'm Gwen. I love your skirt." Layla tried to mutter a thanks, but she was cut off by Gwen.

"So how's Power Placement going?"

"Great." Will lied.

"I'm not surprised!" She said with a laugh that made Temperance cringe, "Hey, listen, I need a freshman rep for the Homecoming committee, so if you'd be interested we could talk about it over lunch sometime?"

"I eat lunch." Will said, giddily. Gwen laughed.

"How cute is he?" She giggled, "Well, I guess I'll see you guys around. Bye." Temperance found herself growling at the chipper girl.

"I don't really think she liked my skirt." Layla said, slightly flustered.

"It's okay; I'll rip her head off for you." Temperance muttered, clearly aggravated by Gwen. Layla looked slightly taken aback, having not seen Temperance's violent side before. Zach popped her in the back of the head.

"Quit with the violence, yo!" He said in a scolding manner. At that moment Warren Peace walked by, apparently unnoticed by Will, whom walked right into him. Warren glared down at the boy, as he nervously walked around Warren.

_"I've got to give him props. He is slightly intimidating… I can do better."_ Temperance thought haughtily to herself. After a few more minutes of milling around, all the freshmen gathered back in the gym. Will was standing on the platform, looking as nervous as ever. He whispered something into Coach Boomer's ear.

"Whaddya mean you don't know what your power is?" He asked rather loudly, then smiled, "Ohoh, I got it, your messin' with the Coach. Just like your old man. Car." He pushed a button on his remote and a car dropped down right on to Will. Layla gasped.

"Are you insane! I don't have super strength!" Coach Boomer pushed a button and the car lifted off of Will.

"Oh, I get it. You're a flyer, just like your ma. Why didn't you say so?" He pushed another button, and a spring from below Will launched him into the air, and right into a concrete column.

"Kid, come on, quit messin' around, I haven't got all day. What's your power?" Will sat up.

"I don't have one." He said gloomily.

"Stronghold… **SIIIIIIDEKIIIIIICK!**" Boomer yelled, the sound echoed throughout the entire school, everyone covered their ears to try and muffle the sound. Will was immediately sent to the nurse, where he spent the rest of the school day. On the bus-ride back Layla wouldn't quit talking about how worried she was. Temperance claimed her seat on the very back of the bus and pretended to listen. Fortunately for Temperance, Layla's stop was the first, so she didn't have to listen for long. On the other side of that coin, Temperance's stop was also the last, which meant another 30 minutes, bored, on the bus. Since Temperance had officially claimed the whole backseat, she stretched out, and took a nap until the bus had reached its destination.

"Yo, Temp! We're here! Get up!" Her brother's voice woke her.

"I'm up…" She mumbled, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"Thanks, Ron. See you tomorrow." She said, yawning. He smiled at her.

"Seeya, Temperance." He nodded, then closed the bus doors and drove off.

The two shortly reached their home and tossed their backpack's on the floor. Zach flopped down on the couch and flipped on the TV, while Temperance went to the coffee pot to brew a new pot of coffee.

"So… Are you okay, Zachy?" Temperance asked tentatively, referring to his new title of 'Sidekick'. Zach turned towards his sister to reply.

"I'm awesome, Tempy, don't worry about it." He smiled and winked. Temperance gave a soft laugh, poured her a cup of coffee, and took a seat by her brother.

"How about you? You going to be okay without me?" He asked, more worried about her habit of isolating herself, than his pride. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to be fine. I get to see all of you on the bus and at lunch, I think I'll survive." Temperance nodded.

"Sounds good. Try and make some friends, though. And steer clear of that Warren kid!" Zach said, in his demanding, big brother voice. Temperance rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Zachy." She said, punching him in the arm.

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><p>Later that night, Temperance crawled into her bed, and turned her super AC down low.<p>

_"A hero, huh? I have no friends in my class. Layla could've made it, if she just showed Boomer her powers… Leavin' me all alone like that. What about that Warren kid? God, I hope I don't have any classes with that irritating hothead… Well, I suppose I'll find out in the morning. Best go to sleep." _Temperance thought to herself. She turned off her light and curled up for a good nights' sleep.

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><p><strong>Ta-daaa~! ... Yeah, I know, another slow chapter. It's going to start picking up though, I promise! So keep reading! And reviewing! Reviews make my day brighter! :D <strong>

**-VA**


	3. First Day of Classes, Oh Boy

**Whaddup? VA here, and with a new chapter to Hazy Shade of Winter! I know, I'm pretty awesome, right? :3 Anywho, keep reading, I love you my readers, and don't be afraid to click that little 'Review' button and shoot me a message! Reviews make me happy! Reviews make the world go 'round! ... Right... Okay, so on with the chapter!**

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><p>The next morning, thankfully for Temperance, Zach woke her up at 6:30.<p>

"Tempyyy. It's 6:30. Time to get uppp!" He whispered in her ear. Temperance turned and back handed him in the face, then sat up and yawned. Zach was rubbing his face.

"What was that for, Temp? You're always so mean to me." He pouted.

"You'll get over it, I promise." She said with a groggy voice. With that, Zach walked out of her room.

"Make me a pot of coffee, would ya?" Temperance called after him. He grunted to her in response. Temperance got up and did her morning rituals, and walked back to her room to change. She put on long, black shorts, a white tank top, and a grey 80's style off the shoulder top. She threw her platinum blonde hair up in a messy bun, and examined herself in the mirror.

"I look like I walked right out of the 80's… Well, minus the bright colors…" She said to herself and shrugged. Temperance walked downstairs and to the coffee pot.

"Good boy, Zachy." Temperance said, pouring herself a cup. She took her spot at the table across from him.

"First day of official school. You ready?" Temperance asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Zach replied, smiling. Temperance smiled in return.

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><p>On the bus Zach sat up front with Magenta and Ethan. They offered Temperance a seat next to them, but she quickly declined, saying she was going to go claim the backseat as her napping area. Temperance laid down in the backseat, and used her back pack as a pillow. She was napping peacefully until the air got almost unbearably hot. Temperance opened one eye to see Warren Peace glaring at her with his arms crossed.<p>

"This is my seat, Icebox." He snarled.

"I really don't see your name anywhere, so I guess not." Temperance stated childishly. The temperature increased around them.

"Better not push me, kid, I'll roast you alive." He threatened.

"Where were you yesterday? You can't even claim the seat if you aren't here, now can you?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you, Icebox!" Warren snarled.

"Sit down! We've gotta get moving!" Ron called to Warren. Warren turned to glare at him. Temperance rolled her eyes, and curled up her legs just enough to give Warren the space to sit down. With a snarl, he did so.

"You should really chill out. It's getting hot in here man." Temperance said, making herself comfortable so she could go back to sleep. Warren's hand grasped her ankle. Temperance gasped at the pain. Steam was rising from the contact, and Temperance had to raise her body temperature to keep it from burning so bad.

"I told you not to mess with me." Warren growled. Temperance glared, and in an instant, dropped her body to below freezing, and froze Warren's hand in place.

"Better watch it, Peace, because I can be just as 'badass' as you." Temperance glared. He glared back, then heated up his hand to unfreeze it. Warren let go of her leg, and crossed his arms.

"How do you know my name, Icebox?"

"Dammit, quit calling me Icebox! My name is Temperance Calais! Not Icebox! Is that too fucking hard? " She asked angrily. The temperature on the bus dropped, "And apparently everyone knows your name. I don't know, I don't really care, either, so quit bitching and let me sleep!" Temperance lightly kicked him, then curled up to sleep. Unfortunately for Temperance, Ron announced that they were about to go 'off road'. Temperance groaned in exasperation.

"Thanks a lot, jerk! All I wanted to do was take a nap!" She snapped at Warren, who was looking smug with himself at the moment. Temperance sat up just in time for the seatbelts to come crashing down on her. She sighed, and closed her thermos, and braced herself for the roller coaster ride about to happen. Everyone else on the bus threw their hands up like it was the most exciting ride they've ever been on, while Temperance and Warren were sitting in the back, arms crossed, and looking pissed at each other. When the bus landed they both made a move to exit first. Temperance glared at him.

"Peace."

"Calais." For a moment they had a glaring contest, until Ron cleared his throat. Snapping out of their glaring contest, Warren pushed Temperance out of the way and continued to walk forward. She winced at the heat his touch caused. Glaring, she walked out of the bus and towards the school.

* * *

><p>Temperance walked into Principal Powers' office to retrieve her time table for this year. She knocked on the door, and cracked it open.<p>

"Principal Powers? I'm here about my time table. You told me there was something special about it." Temperance said, and looked at her watch, hoping this meeting wouldn't take long.

"Yes, Temperance, please step in." Temperance walked in to see Principal Powers sitting at her desk, smiling. She motioned for Temperance to sit, and passed her her time table for the year.

"Since you decided to take the 4 week summer course, a few of your classes have been bumped up a grade. In place of your freshman classes you will take: Mad Science II, History of Supers II, Hero Arts, Martial Arts, Gym, and Virtual Training Simulation. Your lunch break is like normal, starts at 12:30, and that's about it." She said smiling, "So, off to Mad Science! Here's a pass." Principal Powers passed her a small sheet of paper excusing her from being late. Temperance nodded and walked to her first class of the day.

* * *

><p>Temperance sighed, standing outside the door of Mad Science II. She took a large gulp of her coffee, before knocking on the door. The door opened, revealing a man, with a very large head, in a lab coat, and a class full of students. Temperance passed him the note.<p>

"Ah, you must be Temperance. Principal Powers told me you were coming. Take a seat by Mr. Peace; he can catch you up with everything so far." Temperance's eyes shot to the only open seat left, right by Warren. She glared at him. The class seemed shocked that such a frail looking girl would have the nerve to be so openly hostile towards Warren. Mr. Medulla noticed this and coughed. Temperance's attention reverted back to the teacher.

"As I said, a seat by Mr. Peace," Temperance slowly walked to her seat, "Oh, and Miss Calais, please refrain from bringing drinks into the lab." Mr. Medulla said, eyeing the thermos in her hand. Temperance's muscles visibly contracted. She glared at Mr. Medulla, but he either didn't care, or wasn't paying attention. Temperance sat down, closed her thermos, and violently shoved it into her backpack. Warren scoffed at the girl's obvious frustration.

"Shut up, Peace." Temperance said, absolutely livid. He rolled his eyes, and passed her his notes thus far in the class.

"Hurry up and copy them." Warren said, then pulled out a book from his back pack and began to read. Temperance sighed, pulled out a pen and notebook, and began to copy down his notes. She was done in a matter of minutes, and passed Warren back his notebook. He looked slightly shocked, then looked down at her notes.

"Your writing sucks." He said blatantly. Temperance elbowed him.

"You're the one who told me to hurry, jackass! No need to diss my writing. If I can read it, it's fine." Temperance whispered, before continuing the notes that Mr. Medulla was lecturing on. Warren snatched her notebook from her.

"You cannot honestly tell me you can read this," He pointed to a line, "What the hell does that say? It's a bunch of scribbles!" Angrily, Temperance froze his hand, and snatched her notebook out of it. Warren glowered at her.

"Watch it, Calais." He threatened, before unfreezing his hand, and returning to his notes. Temperance rolled her eyes and started doodling in her notebook.

* * *

><p>Temperance was in the hallway walking to her next class, Martial Arts, hoping that her luck was going to get better after her first three classes, all of which she had with Warren Peace. Unluckily for her, since he was so feared by everyone else, the only open seat always ended up being by him. She crossed her fingers and walked into the classroom, like usual, the open seat was next to Warren. Temperance cursed and sat down by him, and proceeded to slam her head on the desk. Warren leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, looking pleased with himself.<p>

"Wipe that smug look off of your face, and go get hit by a train." Temperance said unenthusiastically. She was tired of seeing the pyrokinetic in every class. Temperance finally lifted her head off of the desk to pull out her thermos and drink her coffee. She sat back and waited for the class to end so she could go to lunch.

Come to find out, heroes get let out a few minutes earlier than sidekicks so they can get their food. Temperance shrugged at the idea, not caring much about it. She noticed how segregated the school was, and made it a point to run by Layla, to try and start making friends with the girl. Temperance quietly got her lunch, refilled her thermos with hot coffee, and sat down at an empty table, waiting for the 'Captain America' posse to come to lunch. Temperance was sitting peacefully until she felt a tap on her shoulder. Temperance spun around; furious someone would come to talk to her after such an awful day. She looked up to see the boy with striped arms that 'greeted' the freshmen yesterday.

_"What was his name? Bash? No… Thrash? Cash?-"_

"Hey, I'm Lash, remember me?" He asked, putting on a charming smile.

_"Oh. That was it. What a stupid name…" _Temperance crossed her arms, and raised her eyebrow, giving off a 'Well, what the hell do you want?' vibe. Her clear disinterest made his smile slightly falter.

"Well," He continued, realizing she wasn't going to speak, "I was just wondering if you'd like to join me and my-"

"No." Temperance cut him off, "And it's my friends and I, not me and my friends." She corrected, before turning back to her empty table. The table across from her was now occupied by Warren Peace, who was slightly smiling at the conflict before him. Lash looked vaguely awestruck, before putting his hand on her shoulder again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend; we just thought you might like some company." He tried again. Temperance slowly turned to him again; he smiled, thinking he had won her over. Temperance's stoic face turned into an angry one, and she gave a wicked smile before talking to him.

"Do you know what happens to elastic when it freezes?" Temperance asked as her eyes glinted deviously. He shook his head, not completely sure he _wanted _to know, "It _shatters_!" She said, as if she was having a normal conversation, but Lash could clearly hear the threat underneath it all as Temperance demonstrated with her hands. Lash slowly backed away, before turning around and swiftly walking back to Speed. Temperance contentedly turned back to her food, when she heard a chuckling coming from the table across from her. She was taken aback to see that it was coming from Warren.

"The look on his face was priceless." He smiled. Temperance found herself wanting to glare at him, but she couldn't bring her face to do it. She settled on a smirk. There was a comfortable silence between them, until the bell rang for the sidekicks to come join them. Both of their faces hardened, and they turned their attention back to their food.

_"I cannot understand that boy…" _The sidekicks loudly filled up the lunchroom, and Temperance waved the crew over to her table. Zach sat down by his sister, and nudged her with his elbow.

"So, how's the Hero track goin'?" He asked, taking a bite of his sandwich, "Meet any new people?" The rest of the crew followed suit and sat down with their lunches.

"… No, not really. Well, Lash came over here and tried to be 'buddy buddy' with me. I think I scared him off for good though…" Temperance said, turning to find him, but seeing him nowhere in sight.

"Great, what'd you tell him? You better not be kicked out the first day, Temp."

"Whatever, _mom_," Temperance rolled her eyes, "I just told him I didn't want to sit with him… And I might've threatened to shatter him." She whispered the last part innocently. Zach rolled his eyes, and Magenta started laughing. Zach glared at her.

"What? He's a jerk anyway!" She complained. Layla, Will, and Ethan nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day proceeded like the beginning. All of the empty seats were beside Warren, but after Temperance's run in with Lash, she thought at the very least he respected her enough to not harass her at all times. In gym they didn't do anything, the class would officially start tomorrow; Coach Boomer gave a lecture over what he expects from gym class. In the gym there weren't seats and desks, just room on the bleachers where Warren sat separate from everyone, as did Temperance.<p>

The final bell rang and Temperance went to her locker to grab a book for homework, when she caught a glimpse of Warren out of her peripheral vision. She slammed her locker shut, and he looked at her, smirking. His locker was a mere two away from hers.

"Looks like we're going to be seeing a lot of each other, Calais." He said, and walked away. Temperance groaned and made her way to the bus. Thankfully, Warren didn't ride the same bus going home as she did. She figured he had to go straight to work or something. Temperance met up with Zach and the crew at the back of the bus. Temperance sat her backpack under her back, and kicked her legs out on the rest of the seat.

"So how was your day, Zachy?" She inquired, and sipped her coffee.

"It's pretty lame in sidekick class." He said dully.

"Yeah, but we found out one of our teachers, Mr. Boy, used to work for- I mean with, The Commander!" Layla smiled. Temperance gave her a half-smile.

"That's pretty cool. Mr. Boy, eh? That's a stupid name." Temperance shrugged. Ethan laughed.

"You make meanness look cool, Temperance." He snorted. The rest of them started laughing with Ethan. A full smile spread onto Temperance's face, and she found herself chuckling with them.

"_This must be what it's like to have real friends. I could easily get used to this."_

"So it seems." She replied to Ethan smiling, "So it seems..."

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><p><strong>So that was it. Hope you enjoyed! :D PUHLEAAASE review! It makes my day wonderful. And shoot me an idea or two if you've got one! And... That's about it. Soooo... Yeah! Bye!<strong>

**-VA**


	4. Super Powers

**Hey guys! VA here with yet another chapter of Hazy Shade of Winter! Yay! But before I continue, I got one review that slightly disconcerted me, and I wanted to clear things up:Warren is not an abusive jerk. Well, okay he kind of is in the beginning, but he's not abusing Temperance in any way. I'm sorry if I made it seem as such, but he has not so much as flicked a match at the girl, he has only _touched_ her. A brush of the shoulders, and he grabbed her ankle. I'm not trying to make it seem like he torches the helpless OC, yet she comes running back to him with no consequences. Nothing of the sort is happening. He is a pyro, he has a hot touch, she is a freezer, she has a cold body. Put those together, and it doesn't always work out. He hasn't caused any lasting or scarring harm to Temp. It's like when you pick up a cookie that was right out of the oven. It's hot, your fingers are red for a day, it's slightly uncomfortable, and boom, it's done. So _please_ don't think I'm some sort of crazy S&M shipper, or condone abusive relationships, because I _don't. _**

**That should be all, I hope I've cleared things up for anyone who might've been confused. And... Read on! :D**

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><p>The next week passed much like the first, after Temperance's run in with Lash, as she suspected, Warren didn't pester her nearly as much. Now it seemed like he did the occasionally poking fun at her, instead of the vicious harassment that consisted of minor freezing and burning. On the bus they made a silent agreement to split the back seat between the two of them, so Temperance could peacefully nap, and he could sit and look menacing. She still shied away from his touch, knowing he couldn't help the fact that it was so hot, but Warren didn't seem to mind.<p>

Will had invited everyone over to his house for a study session tonight, and even though Temperance wasn't in any of their classes, she was still forced to come by her brother.

"Temp, come on, they're your friends!" He said, still trying to convince her to come willingly. At the moment he was dragging her to the car by her arm.

"I don't like this, Zachy, not one bit!" She complained.

"Yeah, yeah, you don't like anything." He said sarcastically, and pushed her into the car. The drive to Will's house was a short 10 minutes. Once they got out of the car Zach knocked on the door, and waited, smiling. Will came and opened the door soon after, and looked mildly surprised that Temperance was there.

"Hey guys, come on in." He smiled.

"Thanks, brah." Zach said and walked in.

"Yeah, thanks Will." Temperance said, and followed her brother to the Stronghold's living room, where Magenta, Ethan, and Layla were already sitting. They all smiled and said their 'hello's. Temperance took a seat by Layla, and cracked open her Mad Science II book to begin her homework.

"_Mad Science II_?" Layla questioned, slightly shocked, "I thought that freshman were taking MS One. How could you have gotten a sophomore class?"

"Oh… I took summer classes. Most of my classes are sophomore classes, actually." Temperance said, not looking up from her homework.

"That's awesome." Ethan said, smiling.

"You would think that." Magenta said, rolling her eyes. Temperance giggled at her comment. It took about an hour for Temperance to finish her homework; she wasn't assigned much that day, so she kicked back, and helped the others with theirs.

"Okay, number one. A radioactive zombie is charging your hero: do you hand him A) his silver tipped crossbow, B) a wooden spike, C) a-"

"Yo, yo, that's so weak, man! I'm already holdin' this crossbow, why can't I just shoot it myself?" Zach complained.

"Because we're hero support. And if your hero asks for a crossbow, you hand it to him." Ethan sighed.

"Or her." Layla said.

"By the way, Zach, you can't kill a zombie; you can only _re_-kill him." Ethan nodded.

"Or her!"

_"We get it. Yay for women's rights."_ Temperance rolled her eyes. At that moment The Commander walked in.

"So if you kids are all in here, who's out there, saving the world?" He said.

"Dad… Why are you home so early?" Will asked, sounding slightly embarrassed. Mr. Stronghold didn't seem to notice.

"After I stopped the Superdome from collapsing, I was watching the game, and I got to thinking, 'It's been awhile since Will and I tossed the old pigskin around', so I thought I'd hustle back home, but I see you and Layla have already made some new friends…"

_"'Will and I'? Thank God, someone in this world still knows proper grammar." _Temperance thought to herself, while recalling her run in with Lash. Ethan practically jumped off of the couch.

"It's an honor to meet you, sir!" Ethan shook his hand vigorously.

"What's your name, what's your power?"

"I'm Ethan, I melt." He said a little too enthusiastically. Mr. Stronghold seemed a little confused, but smiled anyway. Zach got up next, and shook his hand.

"Zach, I glow."

"I see." Mr. Stronghold the air seemed to gradually get awkward around Mr. Stronghold. Magenta stood up next.

"Magenta, I shapeshift." Mr. Stronghold's eyes lit up.

"Shapeshift?" He smiled.

"Into a guinea pig." His bright face dimmed, but he covered it up when Temperance stood up.

"Temperance. I'm a freezer/hydrokinetic." She said blushing, realizing she was the only 'hero' in the group. Mr. Stronghold's face lit up once more once he shook her freezing hand.

"A freezer and hydrokinetic, eh? How does that work out?" Temperance shifted, not enjoying the spotlight.

"I can control water in all three of it's forms, but instead of a normal hydro, my cycle starts with ice." Temperance explained. She demonstrated by creating an ice flower and handed it to Mr. Stronghold.

"That's cool! I'm going to have to show this to your mother, Will!" The grown man said, sounding like a little boy on Christmas. Temperance sat back down, indicating that she didn't want to be the focus of attention anymore.

"Great… Well, I make a mean tuna fish salad sandwich, anybody want one?" They all quickly declined, "Pleasure meeting everyone." With that he waved and walked off to the kitchen. Layla gave Will a look, as if she was telling him to do something, and Will got up and walked into the kitchen as well. Layla seemed nervous, but she covered it up by starting a conversation about Temperance's ice flower.

"So I didn't know you could sculpt ice too! That's so cool!" She smiled.

"Yeah, I've seen other freezers do it before, and I thought it was really neat. I just started practicing, so I can pretty much only do simple things like flowers now." Temperance shrugged. A few moments later they could all hear Mr. Stronghold yell.

"_Washed out_?" Another second passed by and a loud crash was heard from the kitchen as well. Temperance flinched, realizing what was going on. They heard Mr. Stronghold ranting about Boomer judging real heroes kids, as he smashed a phone. It went a bit quiet for awhile before she heard Will say something.

"It's not Boomer dad, it's me! I don't have any powers!" The rest of the conversation Temperance couldn't hear, but she could tell that Mr. Stronghold wasn't as happy as he was five minutes ago. A few more minutes passed by and Will reemerged into the living room.

"So I think we pretty much covered the undead… What's next?" He asked, as if nothing happened. Everyone was staring at him, before Layla gave them a look. Ethan began reading out the next question. Temperance inwardly sighed, waiting for the next day.

* * *

><p>It's lunch time the next day, and the bell just rang for the sidekicks to come in. Temperance sighed to herself.<p>

_"School gets so boring after awhile, hm?" _She thought to herself. At that moment a hand covered her eyes and blocked her vision.

"Who is ittt?" A falsetto voice asked. Temperance inwardly groaned.

"Zachy, how many times do I have to tell you? You suck at this game!" Temperance removed her brother's hand from her face. Zach pouted and sat down next to her.

"You can at least _pretend_ that I'm good for once." He said, and took a large bite out of his sandwich. Temperance rolled her eyes, and began eating her own lunch. She noticed that the table was one less patriotic person than normal.

" 'Ey. Where'd Will go?" Temperance asked Layla.

"He was running a bit late today. Oh, look, there he is!" Layla said, pointing to Will who was coming out of the lunch line.

"Hey, Will, over here!" Magenta called.

"Saved ya a seat!" Zach said, making room for him.

"And I saved you a pudding!" Ethan said enthusiastically. At that moment Speed ran by and snatched the pudding from Ethan's hand. Temperance's muscles twitched as she turned to see him and Lash smirking.

_"Shit's about to go down…" _Temperance thought worriedly. Just as she suspected, Lash had used his stretching ability to slide his arm all the way to where Will was, and tripped him. _Right in front of Warren._

"Oh shit…" Temperance mumbled, watching and waiting for the conflict that was about to occur. Warren looked absolutely _livid_ when he stood up. Will got off the floor and backed away slowly.

"Uh… Sorry." He muttered, scared for his life.

"You will be." Warren threatened.

"Alright, let's not do this." Will said, trying to avoid a fight.

"You think you can do whatever you want just 'cause your name's 'Stronghold?" Warren's voice grew angrier with each word.

"I'm sorry that my dad put your dad in jail-"

_"Oh, Will, you dunce…" _Temperance thought. Warren grabbed Will by his collar.

"_Nobody_ talks about my father." He said as his hands were set ablaze. Will jumped out of his grasp.

"Oh it is _so _on!" Temperance could hear Lash say.

"Mr. Boy! Do something!" Layla yelled. With that Mr. Boy threw down his drink, and began running to Principal Powers' office, screaming her name the whole way there. Warren began throwing fireballs at Will. Just in the nick of time Will held up a lunch tray to block his face from the fire. Sadly enough, the tray did not make it. Warren kept launching fireballs at Will, who barely dodged them. Something caught Will's eye on the wall. Temperance turned to see a fire alarm.

_"Good thinking."_ She nodded as Will made a break for it. He would have made it, if it weren't for that stupid, meddling Lash. Lash stretched out his arm once more, and tripped Will again, making him face plant on the floor, with Warren right behind him. Warren glared, and set fire to both of his arms, then launched a large fireball at Will. Will missed it by diving underneath a table, which Warren jumped on top of. He relentlessly threw fireballs on each side of it. They were getting closer to the group, and Temperance could feel the air gradually getting warmer. They both reached the end of the table.

"Where's your sidekick, sidekick?" Warren yelled.

"Right here!" Zach called.

"Yeah!" Ethan said, stepping up beside Zach. The rest of the group stepped up alongside them. Temperance slapped herself on the forehead, before taking a stance beside her friends.

"I suppose you have to throw in one hero, too!" Temperance iced her arm, ready to attack. She looked at Warren, hoping her eyes conveyed the message that she didn't want to fight him. Warren glared, but slightly nodded at her. He growled and fired up his arms again, ready to launch it at the group. Ethan melted.

"Leave them alone!" Will grunted, and lifted the table and Warren above his head. Surprised, Warren powered down, and Will threw him to the other side of the lunchroom, where Warren hit a ceiling beam, before crashing down on a table. Temperance winced at the impact, while the crowd around them cheered.

"Now… Who tripped me?" He asked, turning to Lash and Speed. They both ran away.

_"Oh, I don't think it's over yet, Will."_ Temperance thought to herself as she saw Warren stirring in the rubble of what was once a table.

"Stronghold!" He yelled, standing up. Warren powered up his entire arm, while Will lamely held up his fists. A few punches and fireballs later, Warren was sent flying through the wall and into the next room, which held Coach Boomer and Mr. Medulla. Will turned around and started cheering, but Warren easily got up and walked back through the hole in the wall. Temperance couldn't help but to smirk.

"Think I can't take a hit!" Warren yelled. He roared and powered up his arms once more. He started charging Will, who looked absolutely horrified.

"Will!" Layla called, and tossed him a fire extinguisher. Will was trying to do things the proper way, which took way to long in Temperance's opinion.

"Just pull off the top, you dunce!" She called. For once, Will listened to her, and yanked off the top of the fire extinguisher just in time, dousing Warren in a white powdery substance that smothered his flames. At that moment Principal Powers walked in.

"Hi…" Will said lamely. The two were sent off to Principal Powers office

* * *

><p>"Well, I bet Mr. Stronghold is going to be happy when he finds out." Temperance said once they all piled on the bus. Layla raised her eyebrow.<p>

"That his son's in detention?"

"Yes, Layla, he will be ecstatic that his son is in detention," Temperance rolled her eyes, smiling, "or maybe the fact that he now has super strength? I mean, he looked pretty disappointed last night after Will dropped the news to him."

"Yeah, I bet Mrs. Stronghold is going to be furious though… she was always the more sensible one." Layla smiled. Temperance laughed. After a few minutes it was Layla's stop.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow Layla. Tell me how it went!" Temperance said, referring to Will breaking his parents the good news. Layla smiled.

"Sure thing! See ya, Tempy!"

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><p><strong>Okie dokie then! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I know I had fun writing it! Keep reading and reviewing, it makes me happy! :D<strong>

**-VA**


	5. Will: The Hero

**Okay, so I'm going to apologize in advance. This chapter is short. D:**

**But on the bright side it has Warren. And that's what we're all here for, right? :DD So... Yup... On with the chapter!**

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><p>The next day came, and Temperance claimed her seat on the back of the bus. She couldn't tune out the chatter from everyone today, knowing they were all gossiping about Will's newfound powers. Temperance sighed, frustrated. She wound up covering her ears with her hands to block out the noisy students. Temperance was just about to doze off when a familiar warmth approached her, and moved her legs out of the way. She unplugged her ears, but didn't open her eyes.<p>

"How was detention, Peace?" She smirked. Warren growled in response. Temperance, yawned, stretched, and sat up to face him.

"No, really, how did detention go? You didn't kill Will, did you?" She asked, deciding that with all of the noise she wasn't going to get a nap.

"No," He replied gruffly, then snapped his gaze right at her, "Why are you talking to me?" Temperance gave him a confused look, as if asking him to continue. He sighed.

"Your friends with Will and those obnoxious sidekicks, aren't you? So why are you talking to me?" Warren asked once more. Temperance shrugged, leaned back, and closed her eyes.

"Why not?" She replied. Warren grew aggravated with her answer.

"That is not an answer!" He seethed. Temperance lazily opened one eye.

"Isn't it?" She could tell she was pushing Warren, as he leaned forward to grab her leg. Alarmed, Temperance jumped back and narrowly avoided his grasp.

"_Don't_ touch me." She said calmly. Warren noticed her eyes betrayed her, showing the fear that she didn't allow her face to express. Warren turned down his glare, and looked away, returning to his relaxed position.

"Sorry." He muttered, almost inaudibly. Temperance nodded, and sat back in her seat. He noticed though, that she was further away from him than normal. He couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt.

"… Just because my brother and his group don't like you, doesn't mean I don't have to." Temperance muttered the answer to his question, glancing at him, but not moving her face. Warren turned to look at her, but her gaze had already reverted to the seat in front of her. Warren nodded in confirmation, and turned back to the front as well, now with a tiny smile playing on his lips.

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><p>Lunch couldn't come fast enough, and Temperance saw Will being dismissed at the same time as the heroes. She walked up to him while he was talking to Gwen at their table.<p>

"So you've been bumped up to the big leagues, eh?" Temperance smiled lightly at him. Penny began glaring at her.

"Yeah, Temp. Oh, hey, you remember Gwen, right? And Penny." Will smiled. Gwen smiled and waved, while Temperance's smile had turned to a scowl upon her face in a second, flat. Will looked confused, but brushed it off.

"You want to sit with us?" He asked, trying to make room for her.

"No." She bluntly said, and walked to sit at her normal table. She could hear Penny making fun of her as she was walking away, calling her a crazy sociopath. Temperance gritted her teeth and slammed her lunch tray down on the table, and began stabbing her salad with a fork.

"I think you got it." She heard a voice say. Temperance looked up, angrily, daring someone to set her off. She lowered her fork once she realized it was Warren.

"What?" Temperance asked.

"I said, I think you got it. The salad is dead, I'm pretty sure." He smirked at her. Temperance loosened up and laughed lightly at his joke.

"I suppose you're right. I've gotta take out my anger somewhere, though, right?" He smirked and nodded. The bell rang for the sidekicks to come in, and the two turned away from each other. Once they all got their food Will called them over to his table, but Penny made duplicates of herself to take up all of the seats. Temperance rolled her eyes.

"That girl needs to get her head out of her ass." She mumbled, as the group walked towards Temperance.

"Hey Tempy." Layla greeted, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

"Hey Layla. Boy Wonder's new friends turned you down to, huh?" Temperance asked, taking a bite out of her apple. Layla looked at her slightly surprised.

"They turned _you _down?"

"… Well, maybe they didn't, I walked away. I hate Penny and Gwen." Temperance shot a glare to the two.

"Understandable." Layla agreed.

"You just hate everyone, Tempy." Zach said, throwing an arm around his sister's shoulder. Temperance smiled.

"Pretty much."

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><p>Lunch continued on, a little quieter without Will, but Temperance didn't care, she was mad at him for so easily turning his back on his friends. It was the break between 5th period and the last class of the day, and Temperance was following Layla to her locker. Temperance didn't mind showing up late to gym, she'd done it plenty of times before, and Layla had wanted to show her a new flower that she'd been trying to grow.<p>

"It's a pretty flower, and it smells amazing- oh… Hey Will." Layla said, seeing Will waiting for her at her locker.

"Hey… You smell nice."

"Lonicera Caprifolium… Honeysuckle?" Layla began putting up her books.

"Alright, listen, about lunch…" Will continued to apologize to Layla about lunch; Temperance didn't care too much, and he said something about the Paper Lantern that night.

_"Isn't that where Warren works?"_ Temperance's thoughts were interrupted by Ethan running around the corner.

"Will! Temp!" He called, before a long arm pulled him back. The three ran to the racket, which happened to be Lash and Speed stuffing Ethan in a locker. Temperance noticed a glowing in the one right beside it. Her muscles twitched in anger, and she was about to beat the shit out of the two, before Layla put an arm in front of her to hold her back.

"Okay, easy guys!" Will said. The two let Ethan go, and stood there, pretending not to know Zach was in the other one.

"Zach, too." Temperance snarled. Slightly frightened (from previous interactions) Lash opened the locker and Zach stepped out.

"Not so tough when my crew is around, now are ya?" He threatened.

"Well, you just think you're so big and bad, huh, Stronghold?" Lash said, choosing to ignore Temperance. He didn't seem to notice her death glares after that.

"Please, Will will totally take you!" Ethan said.

"Yeah, you saw what happened to Warren, you want a piece of that?" Zach threw in.

"You better watch it Stronghold, or that big mouth of yours is going to get you in a lotta trouble." Speed said.

"I didn't say anything!" Will tried to reason.

_"I never liked really liked diplomacy."_ Temperance thought to herself, ready to launch herself at the two jerks at any given time.

"Why don't we settle this in P.E.?"

"Settle what?"

"You're on!" Ethan butted in, "If Will beats you in 'Save the Citizen' you lay off the sidekicks for the rest of the year!"

"Yeah, and if he loses you can dunk Ethan's head in the toilet every day until graduation."

"Yeah! Huh?" Ethan asked. Temperance smirked, proud of her brothers conniving.

"You got yourself a deal!" Lash said, and the two walked off to get ready for gym. Will went on a rant and began complaining about how he couldn't win 'Save the Citizen'.

"Quit bitchin' and making excuses, and go kick their asses!" Temperance finally yelled, tired of all of the drama. The group looked at her silently. She rolled her eyes and stormed away to the gym.

"Bunch of little kids, I swear! Especially Stronghold. Such a damn idiot. Blah, blah, blah, I can't win, blah, blah, blah, angsty, angsty, angst! Oh woe is me!" Temperance mocked Will. She heard a low chuckle come from behind her. Temperance turned to see none other than Warren.

"Trouble in paradise?" He asked, a smirk on his face.

"You have no idea." Temperance said, exasperated. There was a comfortable silence between them until they reached the gym.

"Well, I gotta go change. And I 'spose you do to. See you around Warren." Temperance said, and walked to the girls' dressing room. He nodded, and walked to the guys dressing room. Since Temperance was running a bit late because of the group's run-in with Lash and Speed she had to change quickly, and put on her shoes in the stands. Temperance ran out to find a seat, and she saw two options. A) Sit with Will and the crew, plus Gwen, Penny, and every other obnoxious person in the room, or B) Sit near Warren, who was all by his lonesome. When none of the group was looking Temperance walked over to where Warren was, and took a seat a good 5 to 6 feet away from him. He smirked.

"I don't bite." Warren said, not averting his gaze from the 'Save the Citizen' match in front of them. Temperance shrugged.

"Yeah, but your hot." She stated plainly. He turned to her, his smirk growing, and she realized what she had said. Temperance created and threw a snowball at him.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" She said, frustrated, "Dammit, I should've sat by Will. At least he would've ignored me." Temperance crossed her arms, and refused to look at Warren. She proceeded to put on her shoes and roll up her sweatpants.

"You know Boomer doesn't allow that, right?" Warren asked her, "Some kind of safety precaution from powers."

"Yeah, and when have rules stopped me? Plus it's scorching in here! There's no way I'm wearing these full length. I'm going to chop the legs off tonight." Temperance said the last part to herself. Warren scoffed.

"_Quite_ the rebel, now aren't we?" He said sarcastically. Temperance scowled at him, but her face betrayed her, and broke into a smile. Warren looked proud of himself.

"Smug little runt, eh?" She mocked back. Warren rolled his eyes. After that they were contentedly hurling insults at each other before their little contest was interrupted by Lash and Speed.

"Alright, we'll take little Stronghold." Speed pointed to Will.

"And we pick Peace!" Lash smirked, and winked at Temperance. This time she wasn't the only one growling. She looked up at Warren, surprised. He looked down at her. The anger returned to Temperance's face.

"Beat the shit out of them for me, would ya?" She asked fiercely. Warren smirked and nodded.

"No problem."

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><p><strong>There you go, a little smidge of TempWarren. If you tilt your head to the side... And squint... Maybe...**

**You know what I mean. Anywho, please review, it makes my day brighter, and bright days make the world spin. Because if there were no bright days the Earth would be launched into another ice age, and then everyone dies from hypothermia, and that is just not day brightening, now is it? :P **

**-VA**


	6. Save the Citizen, Emotions, and Layla?

**Okay, so this chapter is a decent size, to make up for the last one. Sound good? Please keep reviewing, it makes me happy, and gives me ideas. And ideas are great, seeing as they keep the story going. Unless you don't like the story, then that wouldn't be great for you. But you wouldn't be here if you didn't like the story, therefore you must like the story, so that means that everyone that reads this story must review! Wow, I'm good, aren't I?**

**Anyways! Onward to the story!**

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><p>Warren and Will began gearing up. Gwen waved to Will, and he waved back with a dazed look on his face.<p>

"Hey! Get your head in the game!" Warren commanded. Temperance rolled her eyes, smiling. Warren glanced up at Temperance.

"Good luck!" She mouthed, while giving him a thumbs up. He rolled his eyes and scoffed, as if saying 'I don't need luck'. Boomer proceeded in explaining the rules of 'Save the Citizen', and initiated the game.

Lash started out by stretching his arm to make a sort of slingshot for Speed. Speed was launched and sent around the arena like a pinball in a pinball machine. He ran past Will, knocking him into the plexi-glass wall, and then he ran past Warren, who landed on (and crumpled) a metal filing cabinet. Temperance bit her lip, but Warren got up and easily tossed the remnants of the cabinet over the wall. Lash then wrapped his arms around Warren, binding him. Lash turned to Temperance and winked at her once more. Temperance wickedly grinned back, knowing what Warren was about to do. Warren powered up his arms, and Lash let go, yelping in pain. He started complaining to Coach Boomer about a foul, but he didn't care. Will made several attempts at the citizen, but Speed knocked him back every time. Temperance scowled at his stupidity. On the other side of the gym, Warren began launching fireballs at Lash, who kept stretching out of the way. One Lash dodged hit Coach Boomer in the face. Temperance giggled, as did most of the school.

Finally, Will jumped up and super punched the ground, sending a shockwave through the wood, which launched Lash and Speed in the air. He grabbed Lash and tied him to a street light. Temperance smirked, holding her head up. Meanwhile, Warren was throwing fireballs at Speed, but he couldn't seem to keep up.

"Hey! Save the citizen!" He yelled, very frustrated. Will ran over to the citizen, but at that moment Speed began creating a vortex around Warren. His flames disintegrated and he dropped to his knees, unable to breathe. Temperance stood up in a panic.

"Warren!" She shouted. No one else seemed to hear, but Warren looked up at her. Although he was so far away he could still see the fear in her eyes. Temperance's fear quickly turned to anger, as she powered up her arm, getting ready to launch herself into the battle. Before she could, Will ran over to the two, and picked up Speed. He let him go running in the direction of Lash, and they collided with a loud crash. While Warren was still trying to catch his breath, Will picked him up and threw him at the citizen. Warren caught the citizen just in the nick of time, and rolled over on to his back, completely out of breath.

"Time! She's alive!" The stadium erupted in applause, "Heroes win!" Smiling, Will stuck his hand out to help Warren up. Warren glared at him, ignored his hand, and stood up on his own. He walked away to shower and change, while the crowd was pouring in to celebrate with Will. Temperance frowned, knowing no one would do such a thing for Warren.

_"Well… I guess I'll be the one to congratulate him."_ She stood up and slung her bag over her back. Since the whole stadium was still celebrating with Will, the locker rooms were empty. Temperance quickly changed, and waited outside the guy's locker rooms for Warren. Lash walked out, and leaned against the wall beside her.

"Lookin' for someone?" He asked smugly, leaning in closer to her.

"Yeah, _not_ you." She said and shoved him away. Lash turned to her, infuriated.

"You bitch!" He yelled, and slapped her across the face. Temperance was shocked that he would actually do that. Her muscles tensed, and she turned to slug the insolent little boy in the face, but she found someone had beaten her to it. Temperance turned her attention to the person who had punched Lash in the face.

"Warren…?" She asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"I promised you to beat the shit out of him, didn't I?" He explained gruffly. He stepped over Lash and began walking away, but Temperance called out to him.

"Wait, Warren!" She called, and reached out to grab his arm. Warren spun around, shocked. The contact had caused steam, and Temperance yelped and quickly pulled her hand back. Temperance could feel her eyes watering.

"Oh, shit, don't cry." Warren begged, guiding her over to a corner of the gym no one would see. Temperance began laughing.

"It's not you, you didn't hurt me," She smiled, rubbing her eyes, "I'm just feeling so many damn emotions today I might explode!" Warren looked at her confused.

"Well, I'm probably just as emotionally inept as you, tough guy. Today I was normal, then I was scared, then I was happy, then angry, and then content, before I was blown into an absolute panic, and then proud, then Lash put me in another pissy mood, and now here we are, with me blubbering like an idiot, because emotions are completely foreign to me." Temperance pulled her hair in frustration. Warren couldn't help but smirk at the girl in front of him.

"Don't laugh, Peace! You're the cause of most of this!" She pointed a finger at him, accusingly.

"Me? What the hell for?"

"Don't even start with the fake ignorance! You tried to touch me on the bus, scared the shit out of me, mind you, and then, you almost freaking _die_ in the middle of the gym, how am I not supposed to worry about my friend? And now-"

"Your what?" Warren abruptly cut Temperance off. She crossed her arms, and gave him a 'Really?' kind of look.

"Please, a friend? Now I know you haven't had many, and I'm not the most social butterfly either, but you are my friend. Don't be so shocked." She said sarcastically. Warren couldn't find the words to say. Awkwardly, Temperance stood up.

"Right. Anyway, I need to go see the nurse." She held up her red hand, "See ya around, Warren." Temperance started walking away.

"Calais." Warren called. Temperance turned around, with a raised eyebrow.

"See ya." He said. Temperance smiled, waved, and walked off.

_"Friends, hm? Well that's new." _Warren thought to himself with a smirk.

* * *

><p>"Well, that's about all I can do, deary." Nurse Spex said, as she finished wrapping Temperance's hand, "May I ask what happened?"<p>

"Oh, you know. A certain pain in the ass pyrokinetic." Temperance rolled her eyes. Nurse Spex looked at her knowingly.

"Warren Peace, hm?"

"How could you guess?" Temperance asked sarcastically. Nurse Spex smiled, as if knowing something Temperance didn't.

"Better watch out, young lady. A lot of girls have their sights set on that one. More than you would think." She grinned.

"Woah! Woah, woah. Peace and I? Not going to happen. He's just a friend. I think. If we're even that. After today, I'm not so sure." Temperance thought out loud. Nurse Spex chuckled.

"All right, Miss, be on your way, don't want to miss your bus." She said, shooing Temperance out, "keep the wrap on for another day or two, and you'll be good to go!"

* * *

><p>Temperance made it to the bus just in time.<p>

"Almost left you Tempy, watch out next time!" Ron said to her.

"Yeah, yeah." She mumbled, slipping back into her normal, unemotional state. She walked to the back, where she saw Zach sitting in her spot.

"Better move it, Glow Stick, or I'll freeze your ass." Temperance lightly threatened, putting her burnt hand on her waist. He rolled his eyes and moved, then saw her hand.

"Dude, what happened?" He asked, grabbing it. Temperance yelped, pulling her hand away from him.

"The hell, Zachy? That hurt!" She complained, "And I spilt hot coffee on my hand." Temperance lied.

"Again?"

"Yes, again, you douchebag!" She swatted him upside the head with her good hand.

"Ow! Jerk! What did I do to deserve such a mean sister?" Zach complained to Magenta.

"You existed." She deadpanned. Everyone began laughing.

"She got you, Zach." Ethan smiled, and pat him on the back consolingly.

* * *

><p>The next morning proceeded as normal, with Temperance dragging herself out of bed, zombified until she got her coffee, and only half awake after that. Temperance walked with her brother to the bus stop, and waved to him once they split to their different seats. She took a decent nap until she awoken by someone tapping the bottom of her shoes. Temperance yawned and opened an eye to see Warren. Confused, she moved her feet.<p>

"Well, don't look so happy to see me, jeez." Warren said sarcastically, talking about her confused expression.

"No, it's not that… I couldn't feel you getting closer. Y'know. 'Cause you're always really hot." Warren looked confused, too.

"Yeah, that is strange." He mumbled. Warren then noticed her wrapped hand and winced.

"Is that…?" He asked, knowing that she knew what he was talking about.

"Oh… No, I spilt coffee on my hand this morning, it's nothing!" She lied. Warren gave her a look, as if he could see right through her lies.

"Okay, fine then, have it your way. Yes. It's from yesterday. But it's totally not your fault; it's on me, this time." Temperance smiled, as if begging him to let it go. Wearily, Warren nodded. They sat there in silence, Temperance staring at his arm, and every so often glance at her hand.

_"I couldn't feel him walk here… I wonder if I can touch him…" _She thought to herself.

"I give, what're you thinking?" Warren asked, wondering why she was so spaced out.

"Nothing." She replied a little too quickly. He raised his eyebrow, "It's nothing. I'm being strange. Forget it." Temperance waved, and laid back down to nap.

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><p>The two exited the bus in a civil manner today, and walked to their lockers.<p>

"Ready for that Mad Science quiz?" Warren asked Temperance. She went still. After a moment she could hear Warren chuckling beside her.

"You forgot? Again?" He teased. Temperance hit him on the shoulder.

"I did not!" She pouted. The two froze, and then turned to each other.

"Did that just…?" Temperance started, and looked at her hand.

"I think it did…" Warren finished her unanswered question.

"Woah. No way." Temperance began poking Warren, then began grabbing his arms.

"It's not burning! What the hell?" She took his hand and made him grab her arm. Nothing. At this point Warren looked irritated.

"Are you done making me your puppet now?" He asked sardonically. Temperance sheepishly dropped his arm, and cleared her throat.

"Right. Jeez Warren, you make everything such a hassle." Temperance teased. He rolled his eyes and closed his locker.

"Uh-huh. See you in Mad Science, Calais. Don't forget about the quiz." Warren called over his shoulder while he was walking away. Temperance looked down at her hand one last time, then shut her locker and ran to Mad Science II.

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><p>The day passed as usual, and it came to be lunch time. Temperance sighed as she began walking to her locker.<p>

"Mom is going to kill me for that quiz grade." Temperance mumbled, throwing her books in her locker. She shut it, to see Lash on the other side. Temperance jumped back in surprise.

"Heya Temp. How's it goin'?" He asked. Temperance glared at him.

"_Don't_ call me Temp, stretch boy, or I just might freeze you." She said, powering up her arm. He rolled his eyes.

"Right, as if you would ever do that." Temperance punched the locker beside her, spun on her heels, and began walking away.

"Hey, hey, hey, I just wanted to talk with you!" Lash said, jogging to her side, "So, you're hanging out with Warren a lot now. But did he ever tell you what he really is? His dad is-"

"Baron Battle. I know. And guess what? I don't give a shit. It doesn't make him a villain. Now would you leave me alone?" Temperance shoved him out of the way, and slung the lunch door open. Lash groaned, his plan thwarted.

"Come on, Temp, I just want to-" Lash stopped in the middle of his sentence, looking above Temperance with a little fear. Temperance looked up to see Warren.

"Oh, hey Warren. He was just talking about you." Temperance glared at Lash. The room went silent, waiting for a conflict.

"Walk away." Warren said venomously. Lash nodded, and quickly walked off. Temperance turned to Warren with a small smile.

"Hey, Warren. Thank you. Again. I don't understand why Lash insists on bugging me." She groaned.

"Yeah. What did he say about me?" Warren asked. Temperance thought she could hear a bit of worry in his voice. She looked up at him.

"Nothing… Don't worry about it." Temperance smiled, and got her food, "Well, I'm going to go get more coffee. See ya, Warren." She waved.

They sat down at their regular tables, this time with a not-so-comfortable silence. Temperance couldn't decide whether or not to tell Warren what she already knew; she remembered what happened to Will when he mentioned his father. The sidekick bell rang, and the sidekicks noisily filed in. To her surprise, the group had taken seats around Warren, leaving her by herself. She shot a questioning glance to Warren, who threw back the same expression. Temperance shrugged. While Will and Gwen were walking by Layla laughed loudly at something Warren had said. Understanding had washed over Temperance, and she smiled. Temperance looked at her watch. 50 more minutes of lunch. She decided she'd go sit outside today, since there was no longer a point of sitting by herself in the lunchroom.

Outside, Temperance found a nice spot in the shade of a tree, and sat down there. Temperance laid back, feeling the urge to take a nap. She was interrupted by loud footsteps and an angry voice. The person sat on the side of the tree, still not noticing Temperance. She turned to see an angry Warren. Temperance smiled.

"Hey Warren." She said lightly. He jumped, and turned to her. Temperance was laughing.

"It's not funny." He said angrily. Temperance rolled her eyes and scooted closer to him.

"So, they drive you crazy already?" She asked, taking a bite out of her sandwich. Warren nodded.

"I don't know how you put up with them." He said, now opening a bag of chips. The silence between them was still a bit awkward.

"About what Lash said-" They both started. Temperance smiled uneasily before continuing.

"If I was sane, I'd run screaming right now. But sanity flew out the window a long time ago, so here goes nothing." She could see Warren tense, "Lash told me about your dad. Baron Battle." Warren nodded.

"So, I suppose you don't want to talk to me anymore?" Warren asked sullenly. Temperance looked shocked.

"Are you stupid, or suffering from head trauma? Of course I want to talk to you!" She elbowed him lightly, "And I already knew about your dad. Since the beginning of school. So don't worry about it… Man, I thought for sure you were going to throw me off the campus." Temperance sighed in relief. Warren chuckled; apparently her comment lightened the mood.

"Don't get your hopes up, Calais, that's still a possibility." He smirked. Temperance rolled her eyes.

"You wouldn't do that to your friend, now would you?" She smiled.

"Yes I would." Warren deadpanned. Temperance looked up at him, shocked. He turned his gaze down to her and chuckled.

"You're so gullible, Calais."

"Shut up, Peace."

"So you were really worried about me in Save the Citizen, huh?" He smirked, offering her a chip. Temperance scoffed and took one.

"You must be delusional, Peace, I couldn't have cared less." She smiled.

"Right, so that wasn't you screaming my name, ready to kill Speed?"

"Nope. Like I told you, absolutely crazy, that was _Penny_, duh! Did you forget in that vortex? Maybe you are suffering head trauma. You two've been together for years! You have three babies, and another on the way." Temperance nodded. Warren scoffed.

"Absolutely no way. I'd wind up killing her." Warren stated matter-of-factly.

"Is that so? I'll have to inform her of this. Custody is not looking bright for you, bud."

"Throwing you off the edge is starting to sound pretty good, Calais."

"Oh, all right… You don't think you and Penny would make a good couple?"

"No."

"You seem pretty sure of that, Penny might say otherwise."

"Calais?"

"Yup?"

"Shut up."

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><p><strong>Haha. There you go. A little more WarrenTemp. Kinda. Again, you kinda have to squint and tilt your head at this one. Anyway, please review! As stated in my Author's Note above, if you're reading this you have to review! I command you! AND there's perfect logic behind it. :P So yeah. See ya!**

**-VA**


	7. STC Again? And the Paper Lantern

**Why hello there, readers! It's VA with a new chapter of Hazy Shade. OMGYAYWTFBBQ. :D I don't have much to say today... So... Read on.**

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><p>The next few days grew awkward, for both Temperance and Warren. Every time Will came around at school, Layla would jump to Warren, making weird supposedly 'lovey-dovey' comments. It came to a point where Warren torched her hand once for calling him a cutie.<p>

"I don't understand how you put up with it." Temperance commented, with a mouthful of food. Warren made a disgusted face.

"Swallow your food, then talk. And I don't exactly like the situation either, I was thrown into it."He grumbled. The two decided on eating lunch outside together, to get away from the ruckus in the lunchroom. Temperance swallowed her food, and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, if you're so unhappy, go tell Stronghold what's going down." She leaned against the tree and closed her eyes.

"No way."

"Why not? … Oh my, could it possibly be that you like Layla doing this?" Temperance's eyes shot open, and she was grinning wickedly. She leaned in front of him so she could look him in the eye, "Layla and you would make a cute couple! ... Well… maybe not with the whole flower child and bad boy thing. No… that wouldn't really work, now would it?" Temperance sat back down in her seat and closed her eyes again. Warren elbowed her in the side.

"Ow! What was that for?" Temperance complained.

"Suggesting I'd like Layla." He snorted.

"You're so mean to me." Temperance cried dramatically. Warren rolled his eyes.

"If you don't hush, I'll be really mean and throw you off of the damn school."

"You keep threatening that, but it hasn't happened yet, so I'm not sold on it. Chip?" Temperance smiled. Warren rolled his eyes, smirking, and took a chip.

"So are you going to the dance?" Warren asked, crunching on the chip.

"Swallow your food, then talk!" Temperance mimicked him like a five-year-old. Warren glared at her, "See what I mean? You're awful to me. Anyways, I might go just to hang out. Still haven't decided. And are you really going?"

"I guess I have to, with this stupid situation at hand." Warren complained. Temperance shrugged.

"That's true. I wonder how Will came to be so dense… Then again, I've met his father." Temperance shuddered and Warren laughed. The bell rang for lunch; Temperance sighed and stood up, and offered Warren a hand. Smirking, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down while he stood up. Temperance turned to him.

"You jerk! I actually kinda liked these jeans, and you get dirt on them!" She pouted, then stuck her hand out, "Help me up." Warren scoffed at the demanding girl, but nonetheless helped her to her feet. Temperance brushed off the dirt from her clothes. Warren continued to laugh at her. Temperance smiled, and pushed him to the ground.

"How do you like tha-" She was cut off by being yanked to the ground as well. Temperance rolled over to see Warren, staring back at her. She glared at him.

"You think you're so clever, don't you Peace?"

"Well, I don't like to brag…" He smirked. There was a comfortable silence between them, until people began filing out of the buildings to switch classes. They both went wide eyed and jumped up, putting a good space between them. Warren coughed.

"See you, Calais."

"Peace." With that, the two parted ways and headed to class.

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><p>They met up with each other again in gym. After quickly changing Temperance went and took a seat by Warren.<p>

"Hey kiddo." Temperance said, taking a drink of coffee. Warren glared at her.

"Don't call me 'kiddo'." He mumbled. Temperance smirked.

"Oh, whatever. Hey, heads up, flower power coming this way." Temperance spotted Layla and the crew heading to Warren. Temperance scooted away from him, and Layla bounced to the seat where she was, right by Warren. Every time Will would look over Layla would start gushing over Warren.

"All right! Today is 'Save the Citizen'!" Coach Boomer yelled, walking through the gym doors, "Who wants to go first?" Warren and Temperance exchanged looks, smirking. They both raised their hands.

"Peace and Calais? Don't ever see much from you two. Get up here! Heroes or villains?" Warren and Temperance began gearing up.

"Heroes." They said in unison.

"Okay, and your opponents?" Boomer asked. They turned to each other and shrugged.

"You pick." The two said together once more. They knew who they wanted to fight, but Temperance couldn't bring herself to beat her brother's best friend to a bloody pulp. Not that she, or Warren for that matter, would really care.

"Lash, Speed, get up here!" He called. Temperance and Warren had a devious smirk on their faces.

"God, that's just what I needed. Which one you want?" Temperance whispered while buckling her arm plates.

"Lash." Warren growled, glaring at the lanky boy. Temperance wickedly grinned at Speed, who's eyes flashed with fear.

"Then I'll take Speed. I'll freeze the machines first, and we'll wing it from there."

"Sounds good." Warren agreed.

"Okay. Hey, help me with this chest plate." She said, trying to clasp the back of her armor together. Warren rolled his eyes.

"So useless, Calais."

"Oh hush. Jerk." Temperance pouted. They could hear Speed sniggering at them.

"How cute, hothead and icebox, kinda cliché, right?" He taunted.

"Watch it, chubby, or I just might accidently snap you in half." Temperance hotly replied. Speed glared at her, not having a comeback. Temperance glared back then turned to Warren. She saw him fiddling with the back of his chest plate, too.

"So useless, Peace, I swear." Temperance mocked and snapped the clasp together. He turned to glare at her.

"If we're all done taunting each other, let's go! Three minute countdown, starting now!" Coach Boomer yelled. Speed took off, faster than either Temperance or Warren could see.

"Go freeze the machine, I got your back." He nodded, and Temperance ran over to the whirring saws. She could feel a breeze go by, and a loud yelp following it. She assumed Warren just torched Speed. Concentrating, Temperance held out her hands, facing the machine. After a few moments she could hear the blades slowing down to a halt.

"Magnificent. Now where, oh where, did that chubby kid go?" Temperance called out in a sing-song voice. Warren darted over to Lash at the first chance he got, and he was launching fire at the lanky boy. Temperance smirked, then something flew past her with a _whoosh_, and knocked her off her feet. Temperance angrily stood up, and the room's temperature began to decrease rapidly.

"Oh, it's going _down_!" She could hear her brother calling from the stands. In her hand, Temperance formed a few sharp shards of ice. At every slight movement she would send one of her makeshift knives flying. Temperance growled in frustration.

"Forget this! Look out Warren!" She called to her partner, before she slammed her hands on the ground. In seconds, the gym floor was coated in ice. In the corner of her eye she could see Speed slipping on the ice, and finally slamming into one of the plexi-glass walls. Out of the other corner of her eyes she could see both Warren and Lash slipping around, too. Rolling her eyes, she created steam from the ice on that side of the gym. Temperance quickly froze Speed's arms and legs to the floor, and then ran to Warren's side. When she got there she found a slightly scorched Lash tied up to a light pole.

"So unoriginal." Temperance said, shaking her head in mock disapproval. Warren elbowed her in the side.

"Ouch, okay, I get it!" She mumbled and they ran over to the still frozen machine. Temperance made an ice staircase leading up to the citizen.

"I can't pick up the dummy, he's too heavy." Temperance shrugged.

"Fine." Warren glared, walking up the stairs and saving the citizen.

"The citizen is safe, heroes win!" Coach Boomer yelled. Only Temperance's group of friends clapped, and Layla the loudest, cheering on Warren.

"Dude, wave to your girlfriend." Temperance teased. Warren glared at Temperance once more. She held up her hands defensively.

"Right, quit with the Layla thing, got it." She nodded, smirking. Warren growled and walked off. Temperance shrugged and unbuckled all of her armor, and started heading to the locker rooms.

"Hey Icebox, fix the floors!" She heard Boomer call to her. Temperance sighed, and turned the ice to steam.

"Don't call me Icebox!" Temperance complained.

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><p>It came to be the end of the day and Temperance was at her locker, grabbing books for homework.<p>

"You'd think they wouldn't give us any homework the day before Homecoming." Temperance heard a low voice from beside her. She turned and smiled at Warren.

"You would, wouldn't you? Oh, don't we have a test in Mad Science tomorrow, too?" Temperance groaned. Warren chuckled at her.

"Come by the Paper Lantern tonight and I'll see if I can help you out." Warren suggested. Temperance went over her plans for the night in her head.

"Yeah, I think I will." Temperance decided, grabbing her Mad Science book and shutting her locker door.

"Then see you, Calais."

"Bye, Peace."

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><p>Later that night Temperance was getting ready and Zach knocked on her door.<p>

"Tempyyy!" He yelled and opened the door.

"What's up, Zach?" Temperance asked, shoving books into her back pack. He flopped onto her bed.

"Nothing much. Haven't seen much of my sis lately, whatcha been up to?" He asked looking around her room, "Looks like you've been painting a lot lately." He noticed. Temperance enjoyed painting on a regular basis, and hung most of her paintings on her walls.

"Yeah, who knew high school would actual cause people to feel emotions?" Temperance snorted, a smile playing on her face.

"Man, whatever happened to you, Temp, keep doin' it!" Zach grinned at his twin. Temperance looked confused.

"I mean, this is the first time in years I've seen you happy, like, all the time. And it makes me happy, Temp. So keep… being happy." He finished lamely.

"That… was the most retarded heart-to-heart I've had with you, Zachy." Temperance laughed, and hugged her brother. Zach pushed his sister.

"I'm offended; I worked really hard on that one!" He complained, cracking a grin. Temperance smiled back at him.

"Sure you did, Zachy. Thanks. For everything, bro." She hugged him one last time, and this time he returned it.

"No sweat, I got your back, Tempy." Zach smirked, "Now I'm going to go IM Magenta. Have fun studying." He snorted and walked out. Temperance laughed and finished packing up her back pack. A few minutes passed and Temperance was finally ready. She walked down the stairs, and poured a pot of coffee into a large thermos.

"I'm heading out, Zachy! Don't blow up the house while I'm gone!" She called to her brother.

"No promises!" He replied, and Temperance smiled, walking out the door. Ten minutes later Temperance arrived at the Paper Lantern. She was quickly seated to a booth in the back, and she opened her books and began studying. Temperance ordered some fried rice and coffee to snack on while she was doing so. She was so deeply enthralled in her studying that she hadn't even noticed Will come in, or Warren approaching her table. Warren put a hand on her shoulder, and Temperance jumped, startled. He snickered at her when she spun to face him.

"That's not funny, Warren!" Temperance complained, and swatted his hand off of her shoulder. He smiled and took a seat across from her.

"You have to admit, it was a little funny." He smirked at her. Temperance tried to glare, but wound up cracking a smile anyway.

"I knew you'd agree. Did you see Will come in?" He asked, eyeing the patriotic clad boy on the other side of the restaurant. Temperance looked at him confused, and turned to see Will who was talking on his phone, looking pretty dejected.

"I wonder why he's so upset." Temperance muttered. Warren raised an eyebrow.

"You really wanna know?" He asked. Temperance shrugged in response, then she saw Warren stand up and walk to Will's table. Temperance turned to watch. Warren stood, talking to him for a second, then sat down and began talking to him.

"It doesn't look like they're going to kill each other. That's quite a feat, Peace." Temperance murmured to herself. A few more minutes passed and Warren got up from the table and walked into the kitchen to drop off some dishes. He reemerged and sat back down at Temperance's table.

"So? What's up?" Temperance asked, taking a bite of rice.

"He's looking for Layla. Something went down and he's not going to homecoming. So I told him about Layla's plan. Apparently he's been a real jerk." Warren shrugged after giving her the summary of the conversation. She nodded, and returned to her work.

"Hey, did you do this yet? What did you get for number four?"

"Absolutely useless, Calais." Warren smirked at the girl. She rolled her eyes, smiling.

"I hear that a lot." Warren smiled, and took her book. He began explaining the problem to her and what she'd been doing wrong.

"What the hell, Warren? Have you been holding out on me? Are you a super genius or something?" Warren smiled.

"Yeah, or something." He began helping her on the next problem, "So, have you decided if you're going to homecoming or not?" Warren asked.

"Oh yeah. Layla is dragging me to it, she's actually completely terrified of you, and she wants me there in case you try to kill her." Temperance said off-handedly. Warren laughed, and she looked up at him inquisitively.

"What? You think I'm kidding? That's what she said!" Temperance began laughing with him.

"Oh, I'm not laughing at that."

"Oh? What are you laughing at then?"

"The fact that she thinks that you can beat me." He smirked at Temperance. She scowled.

"Don't start with me, Peace; I can _easily_ take you on!"

"Sure you can, Calais, sure you can."

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><p><strong>Woot! Okay, so next chapter is Homecoming! Excitement~! Please review, it makes me happy. And gives me ideas. And ideas are good! So review! Ta-ta for now~<strong>

**-VA**


	8. Homecoming Part 1

**Hey, readers! Sorry I didn't update last night, like I normally do. I was at a Def Leppard concert. (I KNOW, RIGHT! :DD ) But this chapter is a bit longer than normal to make up for it! So read on! And review! It's day brightening! -sparklesparkle-**

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><p>Homecoming. In Temperance's opinion, one of the worst inventions on Earth. Really, every soon-to-be superhero in the town, all under one roof? No, <em>of course<em> nothing is going to happen. Temperance was sitting in Mad Science II pondering this. The whole class was worked up about the dance that night; no one was really paying attention to Medulla.

"From the look on your face, I'm guessing you're dreading tonight as much as I am." Warren stated more than asked. Temperance nodded, after snapping out of her cynical thoughts.

"You still going, even though you told Will about the whole plan?" Temperance asked. Warren nodded in response.

"Great. I suppose I have to go. Layla bought me a freakin' dress and everything, too. Who knew her parents were filthy rich?" Temperance sighed. Warren snorted.

"You? In a _dress_?"

"Oh, hush Peace; don't think I don't know about that tux you've got." Warren turned toward her, surprise reflecting in his eyes.

"How'd you know about that? I haven't told anyone." He glared.

"Oh, I've got my ways…"

_"Or the fact that you just told me. Ha ha Peace, _ha ha." Temperance thought to herself, smirking.

"Quit grinning at yourself, you look stupid." Warren said, aggravated that Temperance could so easily get under his skin.

"Well, you _are_ stupid." She retorted childishly.

"Real mature." Warren rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, Peace… And wake me up when class is over." Temperance yawned, and laid her head down on the desk, ready for the day to be over with.

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><p>Later that night the girls were all at Layla's house getting ready for the dance. Temperance was the first to show up. She knocked on the door awkwardly. Thankfully, Layla answered instead of her parents.<p>

"Hey, Tempy!" She greeted bubbly, "Come in! I have your dress upstairs." Layla smiled.

"Thanks a bunch for getting me a dress. You really didn't need to… We can return it after tonight, right?" Temperance said, not being used to people doing random favors for her.

"Oh, don't worry about it! I'm sure you'll love it. And it'll impress that cute hothead that we all know and love." Layla winked.

"Wait! Woaaah, back _up_. Why are we suggesting I want to impress Peace?" Temperance asked, her voice raising an octave. Layla rolled her eyes and dragged her inside, up to her room.

"You must be blind if you can't see you and Warren have sparks! I mean really, have you _never_ thought about it?" Layla asked giddily, sitting Temperance down on her bed.

"I can honestly say that I haven't." Temperance stated bluntly. But the more Layla talked about it, the more she began to wonder. Layla stared at Temperance, as if gauging her expressions. A smile crept on to Layla's lips.

"So now that you _have _thought about…?" Temperance rolled her eyes, trying to wave Layla off.

"Peace is like a brother to me. In a weird… silent… sort of… okay, so, maybe not really. I don't know what he is." Temperance said, exasperated. Layla grinned.

"You have to admit, he's kinda cute, isn't he?" She asked, starting to rummage through her closet.

"… Yeah, I guess."

"_And_ he's nice, and protective, right?"

"… I think so?"

"So what's not to like?" Temperance could hear the glee in Layla's voice when the realization dawned on her. Temperance Calais _liked_ Warren Peace. Temperance glared at Layla, a blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"You are despicable." Temperance enunciated every word. Layla beamed at her.

"I know!" She held up a dress, "Here's your dress! You'll look _stunning_ in it!" Temperance was in awe of it. She didn't know dresses could look so amazing. It was white, with a very light blue pearlescent shine to it. It was a halter dress, which reminded Temperance very much of the dress in Marilyn Monroe's famous photograph over the subway grate. She couldn't find the words to describe how she felt.

"I… Wow… This is beautiful." Temperance said, still in awe.

"Well, go try it on!" Layla grinned giddily. Temperance nodded with a smile, and went to put on the dress. She reemerged into Layla's room a few minutes later.

"Well?" Temperance asked, spinning around.

"You look gorgeous! There's no _way_ Warren will keep his hands off of you!" Temperance couldn't help but snort.

"You obviously don't know him." She smirked. The doorbell rang, and Layla jumped up.

"That must be Magenta. She'll help you with your make-up." Layla grinned, and ran down to greet their purple-clad friend.

"Hey Maj!" Layla greeted bubbily, "You brought all of your make-up?"

"Yeah." Magenta replied shortly.

"Great!" Layla clapped, and ran back up to her room, where Temperance was sitting awkwardly on her bed. She waved at Magenta.

"You were dragged into this too, eh?" Temperance asked with an indifferent expression upon her face. Magenta shrugged and nodded.

"Might as well get it over with. Let's go do your make-up." Magenta sighed, leading Temperance into the bathroom.

Half an hour later the two reemerged in Layla's room with Temperance pouting. Layla gasped.

"Temperance… you're beautiful." She said in awe. Temperance glared.

"My feet hurt and my face feels heavy." She complained. Layla laughed.

"The price we pay to look gorgeous, right?" Layla smiled. She didn't receive an answer. She coughed awkwardly.

"Okay, right then… When are Ethan and Zach meeting us?" Layla asked, now putting on her dress.

"An hour, I think." Temperance replied, not knowing what to do now that her make over was done. She shifted uneasily. Once Layla finished straightening out her dress she turned to Temperance with a knowing smile.

"You know how to work a curler, right? Why don't you curl your hair? It'll look really nice." She fished out a curler from one of her vanity drawers. Temperance smiled, glad to have something to do.

"If I burn down your house I'm blaming you." She jokingly warned. The other two laughed with her.

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><p>An hour passed and all three of the girls had successfully gotten ready on time (of which Zach and Ethan were both impressed).<p>

"Wow, you guys all look amazing." Zach complimented, though his eyes never left Magenta. Temperance could see a feint blush spread across her cheeks.

"You don't clean up too bad yourself." She replied monotonously. Temperance couldn't help but giggle at Magenta's hidden feelings. Zach turned his focus to his sister, and he smiled at her.

"You look beautiful, Tempy." He hugged his sister, who awkwardly stood there, "Yo, Temp, don't leave me hangin'. I'm not letting go until you hug me, brah." Temperance smiled and rolled her eyes, lightly hugging her brother back.

"Such a dork, Zachy." She said once he let go.

"Well, someone's got you smilin', and I get to meet him tonight, so I'm happy! I'm sorry my happiness is a sign of dorkiness to you, oh, Ice Queen." Zach smirked and nudged her with his elbow. Temperance's face became a bit hotter.

"There's no one, Zachy, sorry to disappoint." Temperance smiled, and her eyes cut over to Layla, giving her a warning with them. Layla rolled her eyes and nodded in understanding.

"Well, let's quit standing here and get to the school." Magenta said, bored. Layla clapped excitedly, and ushered everyone out of her house.

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><p>Some time later the group arrived at the school. The gym was decked out for homecoming, and everyone was dressed in their finest.<p>

"That's it," Temperance threw up her hands, resignedly, "I quit. I'm leaving, see you guys Monday." Temperance spun wobbly on her heels, but proceeded to make a dramatic exit. Layla was about to stop her, when Temperance ran right into none other than Warren Peace. He smirked down at the girl.

"You clean up nice, Calais." He said.

"Back at you, Peace. Didn't think you'd really rent a tux." Warren shrugged.

"It's my dad's." He said, trying to sound unconcerned, but he couldn't help but look at Temperance to gauge her expression.

"Ah." Temperance said in her normal tone, not feeling the need to elaborate. Warren felt relieved she didn't care. There was silence between them, more awkward than usual. Temperance couldn't stand by him any longer; her sudden epiphany began weighing too much on her mind.

"Uh… Look, I see other friends calling me," Temperance said awkwardly, pretending to wave to someone, "I'll see you later!" She called and ran off.

"Wai-… She doesn't have any other friends." Warren raised his eyebrow at the quirky girl running away from him. He thought about chasing her, when he saw Layla getting a drink. Warren sighed, and walked to the lonely girl.

"The guys at this school are jerks!" Warren could hear Layla tell Mr. Boy. He smirked.

"Thanks a lot." Warren scoffed. Layla spun around and smiled at her 'date'.

"I thought you weren't going to rent a tux…?"

"It's my dad's… He doesn't have much use for it in solitary." Warren said. He found it odd to himself, that he didn't care what Layla thought about his dad. Just Temperance.

Layla awkwardly shuffled, remembering what happened to Will when he brought up Warren's dad. She turned around and grabbed the first thing that her fingers touched.

"… Cheese cube?" Layla offered. Warren gave her a 'really?' sort of look. Layla laughed, uncomfortably. She caught a glimpse of Temperance on the other side of the dance floor, sitting alone.

"I'll, uh, catch you later, Warren!" Layla smiled, and began weaving through the crowd.

"Temperance!" Layla called to the secluded girl. Temperance looked in her direction and gave a half-smile. Layla sat by her.

"Why aren't you with Warren, Tempy?" Layla nudged her friend.

"Because. You're crazy for thinking I like him, and I'm crazy for liking him, and it's not going to work." Temperance stated definitively. She sighed and propped her elbow on her knee, then her face in her hand, "That's what happens when you're emotionally inept." Temperance whispered. Layla looked at the girl, utterly heart-broken at the fact that she knew Temperance believed what she said.

"But you're not emotionally inept, Temperance! I've seen you when you're around Warren; you're a totally different person than you were when I first met you." Layla encouraged. Temperance glanced at her.

"Yeah? So what happens when he's not there? I become like this?" She stated darkly.

"Why are you so upset, Tempy? This isn't you…" Layla resisted the urge to hug her friend and begin weeping. Temperance sighed, this time a more frustrated and angry sigh.

"That bitch, Gwen." She growled. Layla looked taken aback.

"What happened?" Layla held Temperance's arm, comfortingly.

"It was today in school. The break between classes."

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><p>Temperance was shoving books in her locker. Becoming frustrated with the cluttered mess, she threw her books in the small space, and slammed the door shut, violently. On the other side of the door stood none other than perfect, pink, Gwen Grayson. She was smirking, which set Temperance in an even worse mood already.<p>

"Hello, Temperance." She flashed a fake smile. Temperance glared.

"What do you want?" Temperance snarled.

"Oh, nothing, just wanted to talk to you about Homecoming tonight." She said cheerfully, though Temperance could guess where this discussion was heading. She began walking away, but much to her dismay, Gwen began walking in step with her.

"I was _really_ surprised to hear that you were coming at all, actually. You're usually all by your lonesome." Gwen giggled, "I mean, it must be rough to not have any _real_ friends, right?"

"Walk away, Gwen, or it's going to get bad, _fast_." Temperance threatened.

"I suppose it's because of that attitude, really. Do you have any emotions? I've only seen you angry, kinda like now. What's it like to not feel?" Gwen trekked on. Temperance could feel her muscles ripple in anger. She began clenching her fists.

"Well, I have seen you with Warren Peace before, and you looked happy. You're just like him, angry and all. The only difference between him and you is, when he's happy, he's _actually_ happy. When you seem happy, it's like you're putting on a show. Don't think I can't see _right _through you, Temperance. You're just an emotionless, robot, emulating real emotions. Aren't you, Temperance? And don't lie." Gwen smirked, feeling as if she just won a trophy. Temperance gritted her teeth, but put on a calm façade. She turned and smiled at Gwen.

"It was never a secret, Gwen, so are you trying to make a point?" Temperance asked innocently. Gwen look flustered at Temperance's complete 180. Just as fast as Temperance's mood swing, Gwen had one, too. She put a finger in Temperance's face.

"Listen here, Temperance! If you know what's best for you, you _won't_ show up tonight at homecoming! No one will be there for you anyways!" Gwen said furiously. Temperance easily pushed Gwen's finger out of her face.

"I never said there was going to be," She played off coolly, "Now if you'll excuse me, Gwen, I've got class." With that Temperance walked off. When she was sure she was out of Gwen's earshot, she angrily punched a locker, which caved under the pressure. Temperance was so angry she had to skip class and go to the gym to blow off steam (she knew Boomer didn't care about her skipping classes).

* * *

><p>"Wow." Layla said fixedly.<p>

"Yeah, what a bitch, right? I don't know why the hell she didn't want me at homecoming, but if I see her tonight I'm going to start an all out _brawl_." Temperance clenched her fists. After a moment, she began laughing uncontrollably. Layla seemed shocked, wondering if her friend had lost her mind.

"Um… What's so funny?" She whispered at the cackling girl.

"I'm going to beat the shit out of someone, for being _right_! How fucking ironic is that?" Temperance continued laughing, and Layla nearly burst into tears. She hugged her friend, who jumped and stopped laughing at the contact.

"Are you okay, Layla? Don't start crying, I don't know what to do when people cry." Temperance begged. Layla looked up at Temperance, but refused to let go.

"Temperance, you don't see what a beautiful, kind, and caring person you are! Don't let Gwen, or _anyone_, tell you different!" Layla could feel her eyes watering as Temperance stared down, confused, at the flower child. Temperance sighed, and stood Layla up, brushing out the wrinkles on her dress.

"Come on, Layla, don't be sad. This is your wonderful homecoming, isn't it? Don't let my personal issues bring you down, okay?" Temperance smiled. Layla sighed.

"Will isn't here anyway, so what's the point?" She sighed, and plopped back down on the seat. Temperance rolled her eyes and sat back down with Layla.

"So we're both dateless, hopeless, wrecks tonight, aren't we?" Temperance teased, trying to make light of the situation. Layla laughed quietly.

"Yeah, I suppose so."

There was a miserable silence between the two, until they spotted two others that were familiarly patriotic.

"Is that…?" Temperance began, straining to see.

"I think it is…" Layla answered. Suddenly, a bright spotlight shone on the pair.

"Welcome, Commander and Jetstream!" Principal Powers welcomed them. The crowd applauded.

"Good evening, first a quick announcement, the owner of the blue cold-fusion powered jet pack, you left your lights on," Temperance could see Mr. Medulla's large head moving towards the exit, and she smirked, "And now, please help me welcome the head of the homecoming committee, the girl who made all of this possible, Gwen Grayson." The crowd began applauding again, but both Temperance and Layla silently glared at the girl.

"Thank you, Principal Powers, and a _very_ special thank-you to our guests of honor, and the recipients of our first ever 'Hero of the Year' award, The Commander and Jetstream!" The crowd erupted in applause once more.

"And to mark this occasion, we planned a special tribute to the most powerful super-being ever to walk the halls of Sky High," Gwen began walking away from the podium, "ME!" She did a magnificent quick change, and became Royal Pain. Using her powers she rolled in big, flashy signs that said 'Royal' and 'Pain'. Everyone stopped and gawked.

"Oh shit…"

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><p><strong>Well, there you go. Fun stuff, right? :D <strong>

**I still haven't decided how I want the next chapter to go. It may end up with Warren and Temp together, or it won't and drama will ensue. If they do end up together, I don't think I'll have anything to go off of... And that means the end of the story... Which we don't want. But if they don't, then I'll have to continue on, which sounds like fun! :DD So give me your thoughts, opinions, whatever, just write a damn review. :P And that is all, so,**

**-VA**


	9. Homecoming Part 2

**Dudes. Sorry it's taken so long for me to update. I decided to get a social life. Who knew it took so much effort? Dx Anyway, on with the story, yeah? :)**

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><p>Royal Pain stood on the stage, Temperance could feel the arrogance radiating off of her from the other side of the room. A strange, green, hob-goblin like creature bounced through the crowd, and pulled out a strange looking weapon from the podium, and handed it to Royal Pain.<p>

"… Royal Pain… is a girl?" The Commander said. Temperance hit her head against the wall. Could he _really _be _that_ ignorant?

"Yes, I'm a girl, you idiot!" Royal Pain said angrily, "How I ever lost to a fool like you, I'll never know. Now prepare to be Pacified." Royal Pain pointed the gun toward the Commander.

"Do you _honestly _think you can kill me with that little toy gun of yours?"

"My dear Commander, who said anything about killing you?"

"_What the hell? A villain who doesn't want to kill his arch nemesis? That's it. I'm done, this hero thing is so stupid, I swear…" _Temperance thought to herself, and rolled her eyes. Royal Pain pointed the gun at The Commander and fired a strange beam of light. He began shrinking, and from what Temperance could gather from the murmurs, he had been turned into a _baby._

_"What the hell kind of villain is this! He'll just live longer that way, dumbass!"_ Temperance shook her head in disappointment. Suddenly, Jetstream flew at Royal Pain, only to be shot down by the gun, also.

"Layla. Find the guys; we've got to get out of here." Temperance said, before she got up and began looking for an exit. Lash, Speed, and the Penny's all gated the main exits.

"Oh, this is not good." Temperance whispered, wide-eyed. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Layla gathering everyone towards a vent. Temperance stealthily rushed to the group.

"Good job, Layla, now let's bust this open." Before Temperance could finish her sentence, Warren powered up, and tossed a fireball at the grate, springing it open. Temperance nodded a thanks, and the crew began crawling.

"Oh, I dislike vents, very much so." Temperance whispered to herself while climbing in. After a few moments Layla spoke up.

"Where the heck are we?" She asked, a bit flustered from the situation.

"Hey Warren, how about a torch?" Ethan asked.

"Only if you want to get barbequed." Warren deadpanned. Suddenly, Zach began glowing.

"Ladies, if I may." He said, Temperance could tell Zach was smug with himself. Zach crawled to the lead.

"And all the reindeer loved him." Magenta teased in a sing-song voice.

"Way to glow, Zach!" Ethan punned. Temperance inwardly groaned. They were just about to reach the end of the vent, when the grate was yanked off. On the other side stood Will Stronghold.

" 'Sup, kid?" Zach smirked.

"Guys, you're never going to believe this." Will started after everyone managed to climb out of the vent, "Gwen-"

"Is Royal Pain's daughter." Layla cut him off.

"Yeah, and-"

"She stole the Pacifier." Warren finished for him.

"Right."

"And she turned everyone into babies, including your parents, dude." Zach butted in. Will looked shocked.

"Okay… That, I didn't know." He admitted.

"I think this is more than the great 'Will Stronghold' can handle." Layla said; Temperance could still hear the slight anger in her voice.

"You're right; it's going to take all of us." Will agreed.

"All of who? You, Temperance and Warren? The rest of us are only sidekicks." Magenta said discouragingly. Way to bring down the mood, Maj.

"Just because you have powers that doesn't make you a hero," Will turned to Layla, "sometimes it just makes you a jerk."

_"I can feel a naïve and__ stupid revelation coming about."_ Temperance thought to herself, and crossed her arms, waiting for it to end.

"It makes me a jerk… I guess what I'm trying to say is-"

"We get it, you've been a jerk." Layla cut him off in a forgiving tone. Temperance felt happy that she was okay with Will once more.

"Layla… In case my homecoming date ends up killing me tonight, I just want you to know…" Will pulled her in and kissed her.

_"Will is such a drama queen."_ Temperance sighed, and she suddenly heard a voice that made her blood boil.

"Isn't that sweet?" Penny, Lash, and Speed appeared in the hallway, "I hate sweet!" Speed began laughing. Warren took off his jacket, getting ready to fight. Temperance followed suit, and took off her shoes for better balance.

"You guys are in on this, too. Why am I not surprised?" Will asked rhetorically.

"Go take care of Gwen, we'll handle these clowns." Warren said, now tossing his jacket to the side. Lash and Speed stepped forward, ready to take on Warren and Temperance.

"Go." Layla whispered to Will, and he took off. Right through the wall.

"Really?" Temperance rolled her eyes. She turned her attention to Lash and Speed, then popped her neck.

"This is _just _what I've been needing, boys." Temperance smirked, and powered up her arms. Magenta, Ethan, and Zach took off back through the vent. Speed ran right passed Warren, making him spin on his heels. Warren angrily chased the boy down. Then, Penny made several duplicates of herself, all of which began chasing Layla. Temperance smirked at the last one there: Lash.

"So we're on the battlefield again, right Hash?"

"My name is _Lash!_" He shouted, before charging at the girl. At this time, Temperance was _so_ grateful her father taught her self-defense early in life. Using Lash's own momentum, she tripped him, and flipped the lanky boy over her back and on to the floor. Temperance shoved a foot in his face, and twisted his arm. This technique would've worked extremely well, if Temperance hadn't forgotten one thing: Lash could stretch. Smiling, Lash stretched his twisted arm up to Temperance's neck, and began choking her. Surprised, Temperance let go of his arm, and removed her foot from his face. She began clawing at his hand, but to no avail. Temperance suddenly got an idea, and formed an ice dagger in her hand. Using it she created a rather large cut on Lash's arm. He jumped in pain, letting go of her neck.

"Bitch!" He hissed, holding his bleeding arm. Temperance was out of breath, but it couldn't keep the smirk from her face.

"Is that all you got, kid?" If Temperance was good at one thing, it was definitely mockery. Insulted, Lash angrily charged at the frail looking girl once more. In his blind rage he left several spots open to be attacked. Temperance pinpointed these locations, and began throwing small, sharp shards of ice at them (after all, it's illegal to kill people… Or frowned upon in most societies, but she'd rather play it safe). Lash doubled over in pain from the attacks.

"Okay, I'm done playing with you, Lash, I'm afraid I've got to go." Temperance waved, then froze him whole, "Hope no one comes and shatters you." She said nonchalantly, and walked away. Temperance began running back to the main hallway just in time to see Speed running around Warren, mocking him. Unnoticed by Speed, Ethan melted on the floor in front of him, which caused him to slip, and finally crash into a wall.

"Way to go, Popsicle." Warren high-fived Ethan, who looked like a little kid on Christmas. Temperance leaned against the wall and began clapping.

"Very well done, you two." She smiled. Ethan ran up to her looking worried.

"Temperance! Are you okay? You've got bruises all over your neck!" He said, looking closely at her neck. Warren's eyes shot open and he stormed towards her, pushing Ethan out of the way so he could see. Warren lightly touched the bruises, and Temperance jumped at the pain. He quickly retracted his hand, looking guilty. His guilt quickly turned to anger when he had realized what had happened.

"_Where is he_?" Warren growled, angrier than Temperance had ever seen him. Finding she couldn't speak, Temperance just pointed down the hall, towards the frozen boy.

"I'm going to kill him." Warren snarled, and started stomping to Lash. Regaining her voice, Temperance ran after him.

"Wait, Warren, don't do this now. I've taken care of him; right now we have to help Will." She begged, grabbing his arm. Temperance quickly let go, steam rose from the contact between them. Her hand was tinged red, and she looked up at Warren, fright dancing in her eyes. Warren stopped, guilt and sadness in his own eyes.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, reaching to touch her shoulder consolingly. Temperance involuntarily flinched away from his touch. Her eyes widened when she realized what she did.

"I-wai-Warren!" Temperance called to the figure that was now walking away. Layla came running up behind her, and grabbed her shoulder.

"Temperance, you're right, right now we have to help Will." She said urgently, and grabbed Temperance's wrist, and began running back to the gym. She, Temperance, and Warren arrived just in time to see Will being launched out of the gym window, falling off of the side of the school.

"No!" Layla screamed. Royal Pain stood up, arrogance radiated off of her. Temperance felt her muscles involuntarily contort as her hands curled into fists.

"There goes your last chance of stopping me." Royal Pain said haughtily. Temperance was sure she wasn't the only one feeling murderous now. Temperance was about to pounce Royal Pain when she saw Will hovering in the broken window. Her jaw dropped. Everyone else's eyes turned to what Temperance was staring at, and all were equally shocked.

"Surprised? So am I." Will smirked, then swooped in and proceeded beating up Royal Pain. There wasn't much the other three could do but watch, so they stood there and did so. Temperance quickly became bored, and decided if her help was needed, they'd let her know. She sat there in her own thoughts for a good time, until she felt a sudden dropping sensation. The school began to fall.

"What the hell?" Temperance screamed over the roar of the passing wind.

"The school is falling!" Layla replied. If Temperance wasn't so freaked out, she would've rolled her eyes at the redundant reply. Will swooped out of one of the already broken windows, and attempted to slow the falling school. Unnaturally calm, Temperance lie on her back and began thinking to herself once more.

_"I hope my face isn't messed up for my funeral. I would like to think mom and dad would want to see me one last time. I wonder how they're going to explain this to the media, seeing as this is a secret school and all… Man, I _knew_ Homecoming was a bad idea!" _Her thoughts were interrupted when the school finally slowed to a stop. Temperance raised her eyebrow and looked around.

"… We're all alive, right?" She asked, half-expecting to be a ghost. Temperance turned to Layla who was smiling, relieved.

"Yeah, we're alive. They did it." Layla nodded. Temperance shrugged, and felt the school moving upwards, she assumed Will was pushing it back to its original place. Shortly after, the group reassembled in the gym. Zach ran to his sister and engulfed her in a hug.

"Hey sis." He smiled, relieved. Temperance stood there awkwardly for a moment, before hugging him back.

"Nice to see you're alive, bro." They chuckled lightly, and Zach let go, but kept one arm hooked around her neck.

"It's all thanks to Maj, here." He smirked at his crush. Magenta smiled nervously, and gave an awkward wave.

"So… What do we do now?" Ethan asked the question no one wanted to voice.

"Perhaps I may be of assistance." They heard a voice come from behind them. The group turned to see a baby Medulla.

"What the hell?" Temperance said under her breath. Medulla smiled.

"With a few hours I believe I can reverse the effects of the Pacifier, and effectively return everyone to their normal age."

"... Well, let's get to it." Magenta said, unenthusiastically.

* * *

><p>A few hours had passed and the de-pacification was well under way. The group had decided to take a break at one of the tables set up for homecoming.<p>

"Damn, if the rest of this year is going to be anything like tonight, I think I'll turn back into a hermit." Temperance said lightly. They all smiled and laughed at her joke.

"I'm with you." Magenta smirked, and leaned back in her chair.

"Ah, you don't mean it Maj." Zach smirked at her, and she gave him a look that made him go silent. Temperance chuckled at her brother. Magenta had him wrapped around her finger. Layla smiled, and intertwined her fingers with Will's. Temperance sighed and stood up, tired of the overwhelming amount of affection being displayed.

"I'll be back. Need some air." Temperance briefly explained, and walked away. Once Temperance was out of sight Will hit Warren on his back.

"Dude. Go after her." He said, smirking. Warren looked confused, and slightly angered that Will had just hit him.

"What?" Warren asked. Zach threw an arm around Warren's neck, and Ethan scooted to the seat in front of him.

"Yo, we can all see that you two have got the _hots_ for each other. Go get her, man!" Warren looked at Zach completely dumbfounded.

"Dude, it's all right, I won't kick your ass." Zach smirked, resuming his seat by Magenta. Warren scoffed, as if saying 'As if you could, anyway'.

"The only time she smiles is when you're around." Ethan pointed out, "And the only time you don't feel like killing someone, is when you're around her." He continued. Warren's eyes narrowed.

"Watch it, Popsicle." He threatened. Tired of everyone nagging him, he stood up.

"That's my boy!" Will cheered. Warren growled.

"I'm not going to talk to Calais; I'm getting away from you!" With that, Warren heatedly stalked off. After a moment Layla smirked and turned to Magenta.

"Isn't that the same way Tempy went?" She whispered. Magenta smiled and nodded.

* * *

><p>Warren sighed to himself, looking for Temperance.<p>

"Why am I doing this?" He mumbled as he walked the hallways. A small smile played on his face when he heard her voice.

_"That's why." _The little voice in his head sounded smug. Warren's smile turned to it's usual scowl before he turned the corner. On the other side of the hall, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Don't worry, Lash, I'll come and get you, and we can be together again, all right?" Temperance said to a cuffed Lash.

"Yes, my love. Until then…" Lash pecked her on the cheek. Warren's mouth dropped, and he turned behind the corner to avoid being seen.

"… The hell…?"

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><p>A few minutes later Temperance reemerged into the gym, which was now back into full swing for Homecoming. She looked around to see if she could spot Layla, and winced from the bruises on her neck. Temperance formed a block of ice in one hand, and sat down at the nearest table to ice her neck. Shortly after, Layla approached her, smiling.<p>

"So… What did Warren say to you?" Layla asked giddily. Temperance looked confused.

"Warren? I didn't talk to him." Layla looked dumbstruck and sat by her friend.

"Just now, when you left, he didn't go talk to you?" She urged on.

"No… I haven't spoken to him since the incident in the hallway." Temperance looked confused, "What's going on here, Layla?" Layla looked confused, but waved it away.

"Nothing… It's nothing. How's your neck?" She changed the topic. Temperance sighed, but complied.

"It hurts… That's kinda what happens when someone tries to strangle you." Temperance deadpanned. Layla half-smiled. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Warren, near Zach and Magenta.

"Oh, look, there's Warren now!" She excitedly pointed. Temperance strained, and turned to see him. His eyes locked with Temperance's and he glared, and grabbed the hand of the other resident freezer at Sky High: Anna Frost. Layla's jaw dropped as they walked to the dance floor. Temperance was confused, especially at the death glare he just gave her; which she realized Layla must not have seen.

"Oh my, God! I'm so sorry Temperance! Oh man. I didn't see that one coming." Layla was trying not to freak out, but failing miserably. Temperance turned to Layla and smiled.

"Chill, Layla. It's okay. I'm fine. Go party it up with Will, I'm sure he's ready to have you by himself." Temperance winked, and Layla blushed at the suggestion.

"… Are you sure, Tempy?" She asked, grabbing Temperance's hand consolingly. Temperance snorted.

"I have no feelings, remember? Of course I'm fine. Now hurry along, wouldn't want to keep your man waiting." Temperance nodded. Layla smiled gratefully, and hurried over to Will.

_"Well this night just keeps getting better and better…"_

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><p><strong>Holy shit, right! Worry not, my fine, furry friends! With this chapter ending as so, the story has to go on! Right? Of course, I'm the writer. So I'm always right... So Lash and Temperance? Oh dear, what was I thinking? Hm. I suppose you'll have to keep reading and review to find out! :D<strong>

**-VA**


	10. Revelations

**Heyy~ Alice here with a new chapter of Hazy Shade! :D The reviews inspired me to keep writing. So review more, and I write more! I feel like I should mention a few reviews that made me smile~**

**Dean Winchesters Baby Girl, sashaxh, and Miserlou... How can you see right through me? Dx Am I that predictable? (If you don't know what I'm talking about, reread your review after this chapter. ) And Lena Alexander... Your review just made me smile. Congrats. Smile-ey me=more chapters for you. It all works out, right? ;)**

**Without further ado, Hazy Shade of Winter: Chapter 10.**

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><p>The next day Temperance awoke and crawled out of bed, sorer than she had been in a long time. She glanced at her clock. 1:43. Temperance groaned, and stumbled out of her room and down the stairs into the kitchen. Zach was sprawled out across the living room sofa, eating a tub of vanilla ice cream. Temperance scoffed.<p>

"Still quite the health nut, I see." She said sarcastically, making her way to the coffee pot.

"Breakfast of champions." Zach said, Temperance could tell he was smirking. Zach got up and walked to his sister's side, and began assessing her neck.

"That looks like it hurts." He winced, brushing his fingers against the marks. Temperance flinched, and swatted his hand away.

"Yes, Zachy, it _does_ hurt." She said grumpily. Temperance poured a cup of coffee, "… How bad does it look?" She asked, not completely sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"I'm not gonna lie, Temp, it looks pretty horrific." He pulled out his cell phone and handed it to her so she could see the reflection in it. Temperance gasped at the sight.

"That's it. I'm not going out in public." She said resignedly, and sat down at the dining table. Zach took a seat beside her.

"Don't be like that, Temp! We're all supposed to hang out today, remember?" Zach reminded her.

_"Shit. I forgot about that…"_

"Zach, if I go out like this, someone is going to call the police for domestic abuse or something!" Temperance argued. Zach moaned, knowing she was right. At that moment his cell phone rang. It was Layla. Zach grabbed his phone and answered.

"Whuddup?"

"…"

"Yo, I told her, but she doesn't want to go, brah!"

"…"

"It's 'cause of those bruises on her neck. They're sick!" Temperance glared at her brother, but he didn't notice.

"..."

"For real? Okay, we'll be ready. See ya, Lay." Zach hung up, and Temperance looked at him expectantly.

"Well?" She asked.

"Get ready, Layla says she's got something that'll work." Zach shrugged, and walked up to his room. Temperance groaned, and trudged up to her room. Temperance put on a pair of black shorts, a white tank top, and her black converse.

"I can't believe I'm going out. Maybe I should just freeze the door on its hinges so they can't come in." Temperance pondered out loud.

"Don't do it, Tempy!" Zach called from the other side of her door. She groaned.

"Quit creepin', Zach!" Temperance yelled back. She heard him snicker. Temperance rolled her eyes and put her hair up into a messy bun and threw on some sunglasses.

"I hope you're right, Zachy, 'cause if Flower Child doesn't have anything for me to hide this beast of a bruise, I'm never going out again." Temperance stated as she met up with her brother in the living room.

"Don't be such a drama queen." Zach rolled his eyes. The doorbell rang. Zach shot up and jogged over to the door, then swung it open.

"Why hello there ladies and gents!" He smiled, "Come on in!" Captain America and Company all piled into the Calais household, including one extra, vaguely familiar, person.

"Anna Frost?" Temperance asked out loud. Layla looked over at Temperance with sad look etched on her face, which she quickly hid.

"Temperance, meet Anna. She's Warren's girlfriend as of last night." Layla nodded. Anna smiled brightly at Temperance, making her want to pull her hair out.

"Hey Tempy!" Anna said _way_ too cheerfully, and made her way over to the girl and vigorously hugged her. Temperance froze and her eyes widened, as did everyone else's in the room. After the initial shock wore off, Temperance's eyes narrowed dangerously, and she could feel a growl building up in her throat. Zach quickly acted, and pulled Anna away from Temperance. She looked confused up at him.

"Uh… Hey, whaddup? I'm Temperance's twin, Zach!" He played off, turning Anna to make sure she couldn't see the raging Temperance behind her. Magenta and Layla pulled Temperance up the stairs and into her room before she could attempt to kill Anna.

"That was close." Ethan breathed to Will, who still looked a little horrified. He merely nodded. Downstairs they could hear a shatter coming from Temperance's room, and they flinched.

"Oh no! Should we go see if she needs help cleaning that up?" Anna asked, starting to walk to Temperance's room. Will and Zach grabbed her arms.

"That's okay, she'll be fine!" Will said quickly.

"Yeah, totally does that all of the time. Clumsy girl." Zach laughed nervously. Anna nodded, but looked a bit confused.

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><p>"I cannot <em>believe<em> she is here!" Temperance seethed, now cleaning up the ice sculpture she just shattered in rage. Layla awkwardly pat her on the back.

"We couldn't exactly say no to Warren, Tempy." Layla said, wincing. Temperance began breathing deeply, in attempt to calm herself.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Magenta said, trying to lighten the mood. Temperance snorted.

"Yeah. I wouldn't have freaked if she didn't hug me! What the hell was with that?" Temperance stood back up, and began to reassemble the sculpture.

"That's how she greeted me, too." Magenta sneered, "Either that girl is on drugs, or something is going down. There is no way someone can be that peppy." Layla swatted Magenta on the arm.

"That's not nice! We have to _at least_ act civil to the girl. She's Warren's girlfriend." Layla crossed her arms. Temperance looked up at her.

"_My_ civil, would be ripping her head off. There is _no way_ she is touching me again." Temperance warned, pointing a finger at Layla. Layla nodded, scared at Temperance's new found rage.

"Why didn't anyone warn her? I mean, really! I don't even like Zach hugging me! He's my twin!" Temperance said exasperated.

"Come on, forget about it, Temp. Let's just get today over with." Magenta sighed. Layla nodded, and pulled out something from her bag.

"I got this shirt. It's a turtleneck, with no sleeves. So no one can see…" Layla trailed off, pointing to her neck. Temperance gave her a half-hearted smile.

"Yeah. Thanks, Layla." Temperance quickly changed into the shirt, and met up with everyone else downstairs. She awkwardly coughed, standing as far away from Anna as she could.

"Sorry about the wait… I accidently... knocked over something." Temperance lied. Zach snorted, and covered it up with a cough when Temperance glared at him.

"Right," He said, inching away from his sister, "So, let's go!"

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><p>On the way to the mall Anna began walking beside Temperance (much to her dismay).<p>

"So, are you wearing that because of the bruises?" Anna asked loudly. Temperance's muscles twitched and she narrowed her eyes.

"Please inform the whole neighborhood, it's not like I'm hiding them for a reason." She answered, dripping with sarcasm. The group was wearily watching the conversation before them.

"How did you get them?" Anna inquired on. Temperance clenched her fists, tired of the annoying girl.

"That stupid stretch boy, Sash, tried to strangle me." Anna looked confused.

"Sash?" She asked. Zach rolled his eyes.

"She means Lash. Temp has a problem remembering names." He stated.

"Sure didn't seem like it last night." Warren muttered quietly.

"What'd you say, Warren?" Ethan asked. Warren put on a confused face and shrugged, as if saying 'I didn't say anything'. Temperance glared at him, and he returned it. No one else seemed to notice the exchange between the two.

"Oh, look, Warren! Let's go into that cute little boutique!" Anna latched on to Warren's arm, grinning widely. Temperance felt like gouging her own eyes out.

"Someone kill me, please." Temperance whispered, rubbing her temples. Layla pat her on the back consolingly. Temperance walked into the boutique with them, and nearly puked the moment she stepped through the door.

"This… is really pink…" Temperance stated. Anna smiled, and linked arms with her.

"Of course! Isn't it a pretty color?" She asked cheerfully. Temperance violently yanked her arm away from the chipper girl. Anna looked confused, and slightly saddened.

"I need a drink." Temperance said gruffly, and walked out of the shop. There was an awkward silence before Layla sighed angrily, and seized Warren by the arm.

"I've got to have a word with Warren." Layla said sweetly, before glaring at Warren and dragging him to a corner of the store out of earshot from everyone else.

"Warren Peace _what_ are you doing?" Layla whispered harshly.

"What do you mean what am _I_ doing? What are _you_ doing?" He asked just as harsh.

"Come off it, Warren! I know there is _no way_ under any normal circumstances you'd date someone, let alone someone like _Anna_!"

"Who I chose to date is none of your concern!" Warren growled.

"It is when you're hurting my friend!" Layla said, nearing tears. Warren glared.

"So that's what this is about. Calais. She's not what she seems, Layla." Warren warned the girl. Layla looked flabbergasted.

"_Not what she seems_? Warren! This is Temperance Calais we're talking about!"

"No, Layla!" He responded callously. He softened his face to break the news to Layla, "I saw her… Last night, Layla. Once Lash was unfrozen, she made a promise to him to spring him from prison." Warren said slowly. Layla gasped and covered her mouth.

"No. Not Temperance, Warren. Not Tempy." Layla shook her head. Warren sighed, but nodded.

"I'm positive it was her." Layla shoved him away.

"I _know_ it wasn't Temperance, Warren. She was closest to you out of all of us, and I don't understand how you can't see it wasn't her!" With that said, Layla ran out of the boutique, and down the street to find Temperance. Temperance was sipping on a milkshake when she saw Layla blindly running towards her.

"Woah, woah, Layla! Chill out! Where's the fire?" Temperance grabbed her friend by the shoulder. The girl was shaking, and quietly sobbing.

"Temperance, tell me you didn't do it." Layla said through her tears. Temperance looked confused.

"Didn't do what?"

"Tell me you didn't break Lash out of jail." Layla was now looking Temperance in the eyes.

"Break Lash out of jail? Why the hell would I do that! He was a douchebag! He tried to kill us!" Temperance said, bewildered. Layla gave a short laugh in relief and hugged her friend. Temperance looked confused, but seeing as Layla was so distraught, she awkwardly hugged her back, and pat her consolingly on the back.

"Ahem… Layla… This little heart-to-heart about how much we hate Nash is nice and all, but you're hurting my neck." Layla jumped, letting go of Temperance, who rubbed her neck, wincing

"So, what's this all about?" Temperance resumed sipping on her milkshake. By this time Layla had dried her eyes, and was sitting beside Temperance.

"Something Warren told me… About last night. He said you were talking to Lash…"

"Why would I talk to him? He tried to fucking strangle me! I've got the marks to prove it!" Temperance complained.

"I don't know," Layla admitted, "but Warren was completely convinced, Temperance. This can't be good." Temperance shrugged.

"Maybe he's a douche for not believing in me." Temperance said uncouthly, tossing away her empty milkshake cup. Layla looked saddened.

"Come on, Tempy, you don't mean that." Temperance gave her a look. Layla sighed, "Okay, so maybe you do. But can you blame him? He swears he saw _you_ talking to Lash!"

"Yeah, but the only way that's possible is if I was really there, which I wasn't, or, if I had some kind of clone." Temperance said exasperated. Her eyes widened.

"Or… super powers…" A devious smile spread across her face, and Layla's eyes brightened with understanding.

"Micheal Ingram." Layla whispered. Michael Ingram, currently the only kid at Sky High who could shift into another person.

"… Are you sure his name wasn't Steven?"

"Yes, I'm sure his name wasn't Steven!" Layla rolled her eyes. Temperance rolled her eyes, and held up her hands defensively.

"Fine then. Carbon Copy kid, how do we pin him? And how can we make sure it's him? He can transform! This is ridiculous." Temperance sighed, putting her face in her palm, discouraged. Layla sighed and pat her on the back.

"I don't know. We'll have to confront him when we get back to school, Monday. We just have to wait it out till then." She said.

"Well… What do we tell Hothead? And everyone else for that matter?" Temperance asked as she stood up and stretched. The two started making their way back to the boutique.

"That's up to you, Tempy. You and Warren have a lot to sort out, and it's not my place to sort for you."

"Oh, so _now_ you decide to keep out of my business. I see how it is." Temperance said sardonically. Layla glared.

"Please, Layla, don't do that. You shame me with your pitiful glare. I have it down to an art." Temperance said elegantly. Layla smiled and nudged her playfully.

"Alright. I'll see what I can do to get you and Warren alone. But after that, you're on your own." Temperance gave a relieved sigh. The duo arrived at the boutique, but Temperance refused to go in.

"There is one thing I refuse to do, and that is to set foot in that horrid place once more, Layla. I will not go." Temperance said dramatically. Layla groaned in frustration, and stomped into the store. A few minutes later the whole group reemerged, looking gratefully at Layla. Well, everyone except Anna.

"Oh, but that boutique was so cute! We'll have to come back later, okay Warren?" Anna winked at her boyfriend. Temperance pretended to gag; Layla elbowed her.

"Hey, why don't we go get milkshakes?" Layla suggested to the group, then nodded toward Temperance and Warren.

"You guys do that. I already had one." Temperance plastered a smile on her face.

"… I don't like milkshakes." Warren said gruffly, understanding what was going on.

"… So I guess we'll save you a table here." Temperance nodded, and waved the group off. Once the group was out of sight she felt a searing hot pain on her shoulder.

"Fuck!" She yelped and jumped out of Warren's grasp, "The hell was that for!" Temperance asked loudly. A glare was etched on Warren's face.

"You better explain what's going on, Calais, before I roast you alive." Warren growled. Temperance glared at him.

"Take a seat and quit causing a scene!" She whispered harshly, glancing around at the people who were now staring. The temperature cooled off a bit as Warren sat down and controlled himself. Temperance took a seat at the chair across from him.

"Layla explained to me what you saw, Peace. And I am going to tell you until you believe me: that was not me. I don't even like that bastard, Rash!" Warren scoffed.

"Yeah? How do I know you're not lying? And who the hell was it with _Lash?_" Warren enunciated his name, a vain attempt to get Temperance to remember it.

"Lash, Rash, Hash, same thing," She waved, "Anyway. Layla and I have a theory… The carbon copy kid. He had to have been in it with them! In case something went bad, they'd have someone on the inside." Temperance explained, watching Warren closely. He slammed his fist on the table angrily, looking Temperance in the eye.

"It was _you_, Calais!" He grabbed the girl by the collar of her shirt. Frightened, Temperance went into a panic, and tried to scramble away. She became even more scared once she realized she actually _felt_ the fear.

"My neck, Warren!" She said, frantic. He suddenly remembered why she was wearing the turtleneck shirt. Warren's eyes widened and he quickly let go of her.

_"She never shows emotion. God, what have I done?"_ Warren thought to himself, now wishing he hadn't seen the utterly frightened look on Temperance's face.

"I'm… sorry." Warren said, not looking Temperance in the eyes. She was glad he didn't, because she could feel the tears gathering up in them. Feeling her voice would betray her calm façade, Temperance merely nodded. Warren dared to look up at her face to see her watering eyes.

"Don't cry…" He all but begged her. Temperance attempted to glare at him, wiping her eyes.

"I'm not crying, you jerk!" Temperance angrily stood up, and began walking away. Warren jumped up and followed her.

"Calais! Wait!" He grabbed her now freezing wrist. She spun to look at Warren, filled to the brim with anger. Her eyes were such a light blue they were nearly white, her skin had lost all of its color, and her lips were tinged blue.

_"You __**really**__ pissed her off, man…"_ The little voice inside Warren's head told him.

"Do _not_ touch me." Temperance hissed, turned around, and began walking away again. Warren was too shocked to do anything, but stare at her retreating figure. Shortly after, Layla and the crew returned to see a dazed Warren.

"Where's Tempy?" Layla asked. Zach looked around frantically, then walked up to Warren, glaring.

"What did you do to my sister?" Zach demanded. Warren momentarily didn't know what to say. He put a glare on his face, and pushed Zach away from him.

"I didn't do anything, Glow Stick! She got mad and walked off." Warren pointed toward the direction Temperance walked off. Zach glared, and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a few numbers, then held it up to his ear.

* * *

><p>Temperance was lividly walking back home, and she felt a buzzing in her pocket. Growling, she picked it up, and saw that it was Zach.<p>

"What?" She asked, more angrily than she intended.

"Tempy, where are you?" Zach replied, worried. Temperance sighed, calming down.

"I'm walking home, Zachy. Don't worry about it."

"I'll meet you there, Temp-"

"Zach, you pain in the ass, have fun on your day out. Okay? I'll be fine; it's too hot out here for me. That's why I'm going back." Temperance tried to explain.

"… Are you sure, Temp?"

"I'm sure, Zachy. Now go sweep your woman off her feet, and I'll enjoy my day by my lonesome, indoors." Temperance smiled, now unlocking the front door. She heard him sigh.

"Okay, Tempy. Just call if you need me, right?"

"Zach, bro, I'm a big girl. I'm good," Temperance laughed, "See ya."

"See ya, sis." Temperance hung up the phone, and slid it back into her pocket. A smile was imprinted on her face, until she remembered why she was home in the first place. Temperance growled, and made her way to the basement; it was set up to train Zach and Temperance for martial arts. Temperance walked over to the punching bag, and began beating it.

"Why does he have to be such a jerk?" Temperance began beating the punching bag even harder as she felt the water reemerge in her eyes. Temperance felt the room cooling rapidly, but she found that she didn't care.

"Making me feel all of these damn emotions." She grunted as she kicked the bag violently. Feeling the need to let out all of her pent up emotions, Temperance began pounding on the bag even harder.

"How the hell does he do this to me?" Temperance screamed, before finally freezing the bag. She felt a tear trail down her cheek, and freeze in place. Temperance was shocked, and touched the frozen teardrop.

"It's all his fault. Why couldn't I just leave him alone?" Temperance groaned, and slid down against a wall.

_"Because you like him."_

"Impossible. I don't like people. I hate people. Layla got me caught up in the moment at Homecoming, I won't lie to myself anymore about such nonsense."

_"Sure, keep lying to yourself, Temperance, and waste your life away."_

"Damn voice, be quiet!"

_"I won't until you admit it! I'm you, so I'm right!"_

"That makes no since! At all!"

_"Wait for it…"_

"… I really like Warren Peace…"

_"Ding ding ding! Winner!"_

"Shut up, you stupid little voice, before I fucking kill yo-" Before Temperance was done threatening the voice in her head; she was cut off by the doorbell ringing.

"This better be good…" Temperance growled, "Interrupting my epiphany…" Temperance walked upstairs and slung the door open.

"What do you wa-" On the other side of the threshold stood none other than Warren Peace.

"Oh my."

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><p><strong>Soooo~ How did you like it? :D My initial plan was to extend their hatred for each other a little longer, but since everyone pretty much figured out what was going down... Y'know? Bah, more drama will ensue next chapter, so you have to keep reading! And reviewing! That makes me update faster! REVIEEEEW~<strong>

**-VA**


	11. Warren and Rabid Unicorns

**I feel like such a bad person! DDX I know it's been, like, twenty years, since I've updated. I hit the WORST writer's block I think I've ever had. It was pretty bad. And I'm still in the middle of it! That's why this chapter is, regrettably, very short. Don't kill me, please! D': So! PLEASE toss around some ideas in a review. They help. They really do. I'd love you foreverndevarz if you would do that. Anywho. I'll stop begging. On to the chapter~**

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><p>Temperance was shocked for a moment, before realizing he was the one who pissed her off in the first place. She put a glare on her face.<p>

"What do you want, Peace?" Temperance asked viciously. Warren winced.

"To talk, Calais." He replied in his deep voice. Temperance stood there, confused, "Well… you gonna let me in, or are we going to stand in your yard?" Warren asked sarcastically. Temperance rolled her eyes, and walked away, leaving the door open. Warren took that as a sign to come in, and did so. Temperance poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the dining table. Warren took a seat across from her. There was an awkward silence, which consisted of Warren staring at her face, and Temperance pretending not to notice.

"Well, start talkin', Peace!" Temperance demanded. He leaned forward, pretty close to Temperance. She held her breath as his hand approached her face.

"What's this?" He asked. Temperance's hand moved up to feel what he was touching. It was the tear that froze on her face. Temperance bit her lip, touched the teardrop once more, and shifted it into steam.

"Nothing." She said quickly. Warren sat back and crossed his arms, looking irritated.

"… Was it my fault?" He finally asked. Temperance was taken aback. Irritated, she put on her calm pretense.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Peace." Temperance said emotionlessly. Warren looked her straight in the eyes, and she felt as if he could see right through all of the walls she so carefully put up.

"Calais, was that my fault?" Warren enunciated every word this time. Temperance was going to lie, but she knew he would be able to tell.

"… Yes, Peace. I was angry, okay? I was upset, and my powers got out of control! Are you fucking happy? Is that why you came?" Temperance could feel herself getting angry again as the temperature around them began decreasing. Warren looked slightly alarmed, not wanted to see Temperance lose it again.

"Calais, calm down! That's not why I'm here!" Warren said, in attempt to subside her anger. Temperance glared, and clenched her coffee mug tightly. She put it up to her lips to find the contents inside had frozen. Irritated, she slammed the cup back on the table, and crossed her arms.

"Then why are you here, Peace?"

"… I wanted to apologize." He replied, finding a new fascination with the ground, "I should've known you wouldn't have done anything like that. And I don't know what came over me when I grabbed you. I'm sorry." Temperance sighed, finding she was tired of being so angry.

"Dammit, Peace… You really scared me." Temperance said, in a forgiving tone. Warren looked up at her, a small smile on his face once he realized she wasn't mad.

"I have that effect on people." He smirked. Temperance rolled her eyes, and began smiling, too, "I really didn't mean to scare you. I'm not gonna lie, it was freaky to see you feel something." Temperance scoffed and threw a snowball at him.

"That's what I keep telling everyone." She shrugged. Temperance picked up her coffee mug once more, and remembered it was frozen. She frowned. Suddenly, the cup was taken from her hand, and a smirking Warren Peace was holding it.

"Hold on, Icebox." He rolled his eyes, and heated the coffee up in the microwave. He handed back the mug, and Temperance smiled.

"See? You are good for _something_." She contentedly sipped the hot liquid. Temperance smiled and sat the coffee back down on the table.

"Now, Warren, I have a question for you." Temperance leaned closer to him. A smirk spread over Warren's face.

"What is it, Temperance?" Temperance's eyes narrowed, but a wicked grin was still covering her face. In her right hand she formed an icy dagger and swiftly held it up to Warren's throat.

"Where's the real Warren?" Warren's jaw dropped in shock, and he tried to back away from the frightening girl.

"Calais, what are you talking about? I thought we were cool!" He started frantically looking for an exit. Angrily, Temperance shot a shard of ice at Warren, which grazed his cheek.

"Quit lying, it's over, kid." Temperance took a fighting stance. Suddenly, 'Warren' began to chuckle.

"So how did you find out, Tempy?" He asked, before shifting into his normal form. She smirked.

"You had me going for awhile; the hot touch today while we were at the mall was a nice touch. Hand warmers, right?" Michael chuckled, and nodded sheepishly, "At that time, I was convinced, sure, but when you showed up here I knew something was definitely wrong. If you haven't noticed, Peace isn't one for heartfelt apologies." Michael nodded in agreement, but stayed silent so she could continue, "The second giveaway was when you stuck my coffee in the microwave. I mean, really?" Temperance stuck her hand on her hip. Michael rolled his eyes, and motioned for her to continue, "And the one that made this whole thing blow up in your face: you slipped up. You called me 'Temperance'." Temperance smiled in victory, and Michael looked a bit agitated at this point.

"That's your name! What the hell?" He asked exasperated. Michael started walking toward her.

"Not so fast, Ingram." Temperance said in a sing-song voice, and froze his feet to the ground, "You have to answer a few questions for me now." There was demented look on Temperance's face, and Michael shuddered.

"Who put you up to this?" Temperance began her interrogation. Michael rolled his eyes.

"I think you know the answer to that one." He said sardonically. Temperance held up her hands in defense.

"Just making sure… Okay, so how long have you been posing as Peace?" At this question Michael smirked proudly.

"Just after I finished posing as you at Homecoming. I made Peace believe you had a deal with Lash, and after that he went home. I played the angsty pyrokinetic for the rest of the night, and today." Temperance narrowed her eyes.

"I knew he wouldn't ever date that airhead, Frost." Temperance shuddered at the thought. Michael shrugged.

"They told me it was the best way to get at you. Plus, she's really hot." He smirked. Temperance rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Boys… Okay, so where is Warren now?" With that, Michael smirked deviously.

"I have no idea." He was clearly lying. Temperance could feel the anger bubbling up inside of her. She stormed away, and pulled out her cell phone to call Zach. Temperance decided it was better to bring the group here to calm her, than have her thrown in jail with murder charges.

"… Zach? Yeah, it's Temp, and _no_ everything is _not _okay. Bring everyone here, quick, or we might have a dead body on the living room floor." Nothing more was said between the two and the line went dead. Temperance checked on Michael, and made sure he wasn't going to go anywhere. After, she returned to the kitchen, her back to Michael, and she began drinking her coffee.

"They better hurry…" Temperance murmured.

* * *

><p>About twenty minutes later there was a loud knock on the door, followed by the crash of said door swinging open.<p>

"Temperance!" She could hear her brother's worried voice shout her name. Temperance groaned.

"Shut up, Zachy. I'm in the kitchen…" She complained, standing up, and walking to the group, "Come to the living room." Temperance said, walking to the couch and sitting down, facing Michael. The group walked in, not noticing Michael, frozen against the wall.

"What's wrong, Tempy?" Layla asked, worried as well. Temperance rolled her eyes, and motioned to the boy. The group's gaze followed her hand, and finally landed on Michael Ingram. Layla gasped.

"What did you do, Temperance?" Layla panicked. Temperance groaned at her friend's tendency to over-react.

"He came here, Layla. He came as Warren." Temperance sneered at the boy, and stood up, crossing her arms, "He's been pretending to be Warren since last night, at Homecoming." Everyone's jaws dropped. Anna stepped forward, angrily.

"So you mean, the real Warren never asked me out?" She asked, exasperated. It took all of Temperance's willpower to _not_ strangle the girl on sight. With gritted teeth she replied.

"No, Frost, the real Warren did not ask you out." She growled, her muscles contracting. Temperance shot a look to Layla, who glanced at Will, who nodded.

"Hey, Anna, how about Ethan and I take you home? It's been a long day." Will chuckled, nervously, and took Anna's elbow. Childishly, Anna yanked her arm out of his grip, and stomped her foot.

"I don't want to go!" She complained. There was a sharp intake of breath, and Will looked over to see Temperance. She was holding her breath, her muscles rigid, and her skin color paling by the second. Frightened, he grabbed Anna's arm once more and began dragging her out of the house, but not before telling Layla to go calm Temperance down. Layla complied, and cautiously walked to Temperance's side. After a few minutes Will returned without Anna, looking irritated as well.

"Irritating bitch, isn't she?" They heard Michael speak for the first time since the group arrived. Layla glared at him, and Temperance walked over to the boy. Layla attempted to stop her, but her protests fell on deaf ears. Temperance raised a fist, and slammed it into the wall, mere inches away from Michael's face, creating a small crater from the impact. Speechless, Michael looked at the angry girl.

"You have some serious anger management issues, lady!" Temperance snarled at him.

"If you don't tell me where Peace is this _instant_, I promise won't miss next time." Temperance threatened. Michael watched her.

"You're bluffing." He said, unsure. Temperance brought her eyes to meet his. Michael attempted to back away from the livid girl, but couldn't, seeing as he was frozen in place.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you where he is! Don't kill me, lady!" Michael flinched. Layla walked to Temperance, and grabbed her arm.

"Temperance, come on, Will can handle it from here." Layla said, in a demanding voice. Temperance turned her glare to her friend, but it softened once she saw the hardened look on Layla's face. With one final glare, Temperance let Layla and Magenta 'escort' her to her room (which pretty much meant they were going to make sure she didn't do anything stupid in her blind rage).

* * *

><p>Temperance flopped onto her bed.<p>

"I'm going to kill him." She stated. Magenta sat beside her friend and rolled her eyes.

"You say that about everyone, Temp." Temperance tried to glare, but couldn't help but laugh with Magenta and Layla.

"You're right. I need new threats… I hope his family gets eaten by a pack of rabid unicorns." Temperance stated firmly, and broke out into a fit off giggles. There was a timid knock at Temperance's door.

"Come in." Temperance shouted. Ethan uneasily opened the door, half-expecting to be frozen on sight.

"Will wanted me to get you. Ingram is going to lead us to Warren." He informed them. Temperance nodded, put on her unemotional façade once more.

"Let's go."

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><p><strong>So... Short chapter, eh? I know like <em>everyone<em> knew that this was going to be fake Warren at the door. But I tried to put a little more of a twist in it, by making Warren disappear. :P Eh. Anyway, let's mention some reviews that made me smile~**

**Dean Winchesters Baby Girl, SpadesandClubs, and prboricua7: I'm glad you guys hate Anna as much as I do. XD It irritates me just typing about her...**

**.Mistress.92, Lena Alexander, BlameItOnBeingGemini, and Kat: Your reviews just made me smile. Congrats. I tend to update faster with smiles! :DD**


	12. The End

**It's been forever since I've updated... I'm so sorry! D': But guess what! This is the final chapter! Huzzah! Nothing much to say... So... Read on!**

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><p>Thirty minutes later the group arrived at an abandoned-looking warehouse.<p>

"This isn't cliché…" Magenta said sarcastically. If Temperance wasn't so focused on saving Warren, she would've been laughing.

"Well, Ingram, where is he?" Temperance felt her anger rising with each passing moment. Frightened, he jumped away from the temperamental girl.

"He's in there! Hold on!" He yelped, walking to the doors faster. Temperance couldn't help but feel on edge. The whole set up seemed too easy to be true.

"Will… Keep an eye on him; I got a feeling something's up." Temperance whispered into her friend's ear. He nodded in acknowledgement. Temperance followed the group from the back, in an attempt to stay focused and be able to see everything before her. Unfortunately, this plan was her downfall. Without anyone noticing, a cloaked figure snuck up behind Temperance and kidnapped her. Zach was the first to realize she wasn't with them.

"Hey. Where'd Tempy go?" Zach asked, looking around, slightly worried, "Did she say she was going anywhere?" He asked, louder. Will shook his head, then turned to Michael with a scowl etched on his face.

"Where's Temperance?" He asked. Michael held up his hands defensively.

"Dude, I don't know! Don't ask me!" He replied, scared. By this time Zach was deafeningly shouting Temperance's name.

"Temperance! Tempy! Where are you?" Magenta hit him in the back of the head.

"Zach! If someone is here you'll get us caught!" She seethed.

"Yeah, cool it man, we'll find your sister." Ethan added, putting a hand on Zach's shoulder. Frustrated, he pushed Ethan's hand away.

"Don't tell me to cool it! She's my sister!" Zach said, in a cross between anger and desperation. Cautiously, Layla approached Zach, and grabbed his hand.

"Zach… It'll be okay. All right? We'll find Tempy." She said soothingly. Biting his lip, Zach nodded. He turned his head from the group, to hide his watering eyes. Zach couldn't help but feel panicked, and responsible for the missing girl. Magenta frowned; no one was used to seeing the usually chipper boy in this state. She came up behind Zach and hugged him.

After what seemed an eternity, Temperance was violently thrown to the floor of a dark room. Her kidnapper walked out of the room, and shut the door behind him, and Temperance heard the click of a lock. There appeared to be no way to escape. Temperance growled in frustration, and stomped her foot on the ground.

"This is ridiculous!" She continued mumbling colorful things to herself, mainly nagging about being taken in the first place, when she was interrupted by a familiar, husky voice.

"Calais?" Temperance froze. She slowly turned around, and strained to see where the voice had come from. Her attempt was futile; in the dark room she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face.

"P-peace?" Her voice faltered; Temperance hadn't realized how much she had missed her pyrokinetic. There was a snap, and the room was illuminated with a soft glow from a flame at the end of Warren Peace's fingertips. He seemed nervous. Warren wasn't quite sure how Temperance was going to react. Temperance tried to keep her usual, stoic face, but found that she couldn't. The overwhelming relief she had from finding Warren was too much, and Temperance's face broke into a large smile. She unexpected hugged the boy, who was taken by surprise at the sudden contact.

"Peace, you jerk." She said, smiling. Warren sighed, and backed away from the girl.

"Nice to see you to, Calais." He said, smirking. Temperance rolled her eyes. It took nearly thirty minutes for the two to catch each other up on what happened the previous day.

"As touching as this reunion is," Temperance said sarcastically, "We really need to bust out of here, Peace. The others could be in trouble, too. Who's behind this?" Temperance asked. She had her suspicions, but she needed him to confirm it.

"Royal Pain and her goons, who else?" Warren seethed. Temperance nodded. Her eyes began adjusting to the dark, but she could only make out vague shapes.

"Peace, can we get a bit more light in here? Help me find the door." Temperance took charge. Warren scoffed, but did as she said. With the help of Warren they managed to find a keyhole in the doorknob. Temperance smirked.

"Big mistake." She whispered to herself. Using her water she filled the keyhole until it was full, and then froze the water to make an iced key. She carefully turned it, so as not to shatter the ice, and successfully unlocked the door. It swung open and light violently shone in their faces. Temperance cringed at the violation of her pupils. Suddenly, an alarm started ringing, and she exchanged a glance with Warren. He merely nodded, and took off at a full sprint. Temperance followed him, doing her best to keep up. Behind them they could hear the irritated shouting of Gwen Grayson (aka Royal Pain). Temperance smirked, feeling triumphant for breaking out of the jail cell. Minutes later Warren and Temperance finally reached a door that the assumed led outside. Temperance impatiently yanked on the doorknob, Royal Pain and her goons were closing in. Temperance fumbled around, trying to make another ice key quickly. Warren pushed her back, and threw a large fireball at the door, causing it to crumple into a pile of ash. Temperance gawked at him, and Warren glared, grabbing her wrist, then took off running once more. Finally, the two came across a group of familiar faces. Temperance's face lit up when she saw her brother; she sprinted faster and jumped into his open arms.

"Zachy, I missed you!" She said, squeezing him tightly. Everyone else looked utterly shocked at the display of emotion Temperance was showing. Zach glared at them.

"What? I can't miss my twin, brah?" He asked. Magenta snorted, and the rest started laughing (besides the ever-so-stoic Warren, though he did crack a smile). The pleasant moment was rudely interrupted by a voice that they were all growing to hate.

"How touching." Royal Pain sneered. The group turned to face Royal Pain. Speed, Lash and several Penny's followed her, "Now I'll have to kill you." Royal Pain glared, and her helmet suddenly appeared over her face.

"We have to go through this again?" Magenta rolled her eyes, and took a fighting stance. The rest of the sidekicks took position beside her, ready to fight them off the old-fashioned way, while the 'heroes' used their powers to kick ass.

"Zach, Magenta and Ethan, take Speed, Will and I got Pain. Warren, Temp," Layla gave a meaningful look to us, and glanced at my neck, "Kick Lash's ass." With that, she ran into battle. Temperance gawked after her flowery friend. Warren rolled his eyes, and grabbed Temperance's wrist again, dragging her over to Lash.

"I totally just heard that." Temperance said, still in mild shock that Layla cursed. Warren glared.

"Now is not the time, Calais." He growled, returning his attention to the smirking stretch-boy in front of him.

"Hey Tempy," Lash said smugly, "How's the neck?" He smirked triumphantly. Warren let out a snarl, and lunged at Lash, who merely dodged his fierce attack. Temperance glared at him.

"When I get done with you, you're going to _wish_ I strangled you." She said, livid. The temperature in the surrounding area suddenly dropped, and Lash's face was one of pure fright.

"Listen, Temperance, we can talk this out, right?" He said, backing away from the advancing girl. Unbeknownst to him, he was backing right into Warren Peace. Warren violently grabbed him, and torched his arms. Lash yelped in pain, and managed to slither away from Warren.

"I'm going to kill you, you little pest!" Warren started blindly throwing fireballs at Lash, who, with the help of his power, dodged all of them with ease. This time, Lash had figured out that if he kept moving Temperance couldn't freeze him, either. She was growing even more frustrated, and weary, from excessively using her powers. Temperance was holding one knee, and panting.

"Peace, we need a better game plan!" She said to her companion. He nodded in agreement; he was also worn out, but not showing it as much as Temperance.

"Okay, you run left, I go right. He can't dodge the both of us, right?" Temperance suggested to Warren.

"Yeah." He said in agreement, "Go!" They took off in separate directions, momentarily distracting Lash, but he smirked, realizing their plan.

"Really guys?" He asked. He stretched out his arm, and unexpectedly, grabbed Temperance by the waist and pulled her in to him. Lash then pulled out a strange looking ray-gun and pointed it to her head.

"Heat-rays wouldn't sit very well with Frosty here, would it? Especially if I happen to turn it all the way up." He chuckled, and looked at Warren, whom was frozen in place.

"Calais." He whispered, fear flashed in his eyes. Warren took a step forward, and Lash tightened his grip on the gun.

"Uh-uh, Hothead," He warned in a sing-song voice, "One more step and I'll fry her brains!" Warren growled, but took a step back. Lash nodded in approval. Temperance growled, Lash had bound her hands, and without them she couldn't use her powers. She threw a glance at Warren.

"You know what you have to do, Warren!" Temperance shouted to him. Lash grabbed her throat.

"Shut up, Temperance!" He snarled, and Temperance gasped at the pain emanating from her neck. Warren shook his head.

"I can't do it, Calais!" He said back to her, worry filled his eyes. She looked at him, and smiled.

_"Yes you can."_ Temperance mouthed, and slowly her whole body began to freeze.

"W-what the hell?" Lash was taken by surprise for a second. That second was all Warren needed. With all of the power he could muster up, Warren threw a gigantic fireball at the unsuspecting Lash. It hit Lash and Temperance dead-on. Lash began screaming, and running around frantically, in attempt to put out the fire. Warren ran to Temperance's side; she was unconscious. Worried, he shook her.

"Calais, wake up." He demanded, and shook her a bit more violently when she didn't respond.

"Calais, I said wake up!" Warren shouted, "Dammit, Calais, you'd better not die." His voice cracked at the thought. After all this time realization suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks: Warren Peace loved Temperance Calais. Tears threatened his eyes, but they merely evaporated off of his hot skin.

"Temperance," He whispered her name, "I fucking love you. Don't die." The group had assembled around the two, all looking solemn, but Warren didn't notice. Zach had to turn away to hide the tears pouring from his eyes, as did Magenta and Layla. Both Will and Ethan looked on, a grave expression etched on their faces.

Suddenly, Temperance stirred, and her brows furrowed.

"Who the hell turned the thermostat up to 3000?" She asked, her voice hoarse. Warren smirked at her, and stood up. He helped Temperance to her feet, and she was immediately attacked with hugs.

"Don't ever do that again, Temperance!" Zach said, hugging his sister. Temperance smiled at him.

"No promises, bro." She winked, and gave a hug to both Magenta and Layla. They hugged her, and wiped the tears from their eyes.

"We thought we'd lost you, Temp." Magenta said, trying to regain her composure.

"Please, Maj. It'll take more than that to get rid of me." Temperance turned to Ethan and Will. They looked at her awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Temperance rolled her eyes.

"I don't bite, guys." She said holding her arms out for a hug. Smiling at the invitation, Will and Ethan gave her a hug.

"Nah, you only freeze people solid." Will joked, glad to see his friend was okay.

"For real, Temp. You totally kicked ass out there, by the way." Ethan piped in. Temperance snorted.

"Yeah, getting torched is definitely kicking ass, let me tell you." She said sarcastically. The group began chattering, but Warren stood outside of the circle, quietly, in his own thoughts.

_"You fucking love her? Great, Peace. Why admit it, when she doesn't do the whole emotion thing anyway? You're so stupid." _Warren mentally beat himself up.

Layla and Magenta tapped Temperance on the shoulder, smiling. They had both glanced at Warren, as he was in the middle of his internal turmoil outside of the group.

"Yeah?" Temperance spun around to them. Layla nodded towards Warren.

"Talk to him." She whispered. Temperance looked at Layla as if she had sprouted another head.

"Talk to him? He probably wants to kill me for doing something that stupid!" Temperance harshly whispered to Layla, and glanced over to Warren. He did not seem happy. A smirk broke out on Magenta's face.

"Oh, I beg to differ." Magenta said, as if she knew something Temperance didn't. Temperance looked confused, and waited for her to explain. She was about to, when Layla's hands flew over Magenta's mouth.

"Nothing. Go talk. Now." Layla demanded, with an innocent smile. Temperance nodded, looking at her suspiciously, and slowly walked over to Warren. She cleared her throat. Warren didn't seem to hear, he was really deep in thought.

"Warren…?" Temperance touched him on the shoulder. He jumped at the contact.

"Te- Calais," He caught himself, "What are you doing?" Warren asked a bit more gruffly this time. Temperance shrugged.

"I… didn't get a hug." She lamely said, holding out her arms. Warren's eyebrow rose.

"I'll just hurt you." He said, angrily, turning his face away from her. Temperance's eyebrows furrowed as she put her hands on her hips.

"Is that what this is about, Peace? You're afraid you're going to burn me?"

"I've done it before, what's going to stop me from doing it again?" He retorted, hotly. A quote had jumped into Temperance's mind, and her expression softened, and she touched his arm.

"Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." She whispered to him. Warren looked up into Temperance's eyes, "You're worth suffering for." Temperance said. Suddenly, Warren's lips crashed onto hers, and she felt sheer joy. Once Temperance's brain reconnected with her lips, she began kissing him back with energy she didn't know she had. Warren pulled her closer to him, and began kissing her more greedily, when they were abruptly cut off by a loud, irritated cough. Blushing furiously, Temperance pulled away, to see an annoyed Zach.

"You done sucking face, Temp?" He bluntly asked. A devious smirk lit up her face.

"Not yet." With that she turned and planted another, long kiss on Warren's lips.

"Now I'm done." She said innocently. Warren chuckled behind her, and wrapped his arms around her.

"He's just going to have to get over it, won't he?" Warren asked Temperance, loud enough for everyone to hear. Temperance smirked as the others laughed.

"Definitely, there's no way I'm stopping any time soon." She grinned at the pyrokinetic.

"I love you, Temperance Calais." He whispered into her ear.

"I love you, too, Warren Peace."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sure you were all waiting for that kiss. I know I was. Anyway, that's the conclusion to A Hazy Shade of Winter! Thank you guys so much for reading! I love all you reviewers, you're wonderful, and you kept me typing! Albeit slow typing... And why was everyone amused with the rabid unicron thing? Haha, I liked it. If you review a whole bunch I might write an epilogue! So you should do it! :D And if any of you are Harry Potter fans or X-Men:First Class fans, keep an eye out for my new fics coming up! I love alls of you guys! <strong>

**-VA**


	13. SEQUEL?

**Hello my magnificent readers! I'm sure you may all be wondering: What the hell is this lady doing, updating this old as dirt story? I will tell you:**

**I'm writing a sequel.**

**HOLYCRAPWTFOMGROFLMAOBBQ.**

**Yes, you read right, a sequel, BUT I need your help!**

**I need fresh ideas for Temperance and the gang's next year of highschool! I have a few... Like two... More like one and a half.**

**And it's not very good. So. HALP. **

**If this goes well I would like to write a story for each year of Temperance's highschool (One less than the norm because she's skipped a grade). As of now, I have pretty much nothing though. Oh, faithful readers, if you want more Temperance YOU MUST HELP ME IN MY QUEST FOR A PLOT.**

**Yes, that was dramatic, but absolutely neccessary (not).**

**I would also like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed in the past, you all made this story possible, and I'm still getting new reviews that make me smile every day. I can't tell you guys how much it means to me when you give me constructive criticism. I frakking love you guys. Power to the readers!**

**That's pretty much it so...**

**V.A. OUT.**


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